Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Price Target Raised to $49.00

Key Points

• Barrington Research raised the price target for Barrett Business Services (BBSI) from $45.00 to $49.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.96% from the company's previous close.
• Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded BBSI's rating from "strong-buy" to "hold" on May 16th, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment.
• Barrett Business Services reported earnings of $0.70 per share, beating estimates, with a 10.0% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by Barrington Research from $45.00 to $49.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Barrington Research's target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.96% from the company's previous close.

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Barrett Business Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

NASDAQ BBSI traded up $2.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $47.14. The company had a trading volume of 171,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,122. Barrett Business Services has a fifty-two week low of $31.77 and a fifty-two week high of $48.48. The firm's 50 day moving average is $42.98 and its 200 day moving average is $41.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 24.55% and a net margin of 4.45%. The business had revenue of $307.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 12,354 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total value of $526,280.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 91,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,903,352.80. This trade represents a 11.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 7,380 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total value of $310,993.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 55,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,338,938.56. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,061 shares of company stock worth $1,406,470 in the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBSI. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $75,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 26.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,309 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter worth $163,000. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its position in Barrett Business Services by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,400 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Barrett Business Services Company Profile

Barrett Business Services, Inc provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. The company develops a management platform that integrates a knowledge-based approach from the management consulting industry with tools from the human resource outsourcing industry.

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