Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $45.00 and last traded at $44.61, with a volume of 2220 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on BBSI shares. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 0.3%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $42.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.65. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.99.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.09. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 24.55%. The company had revenue of $292.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Barrett Business Services's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.41%.

Insider Activity at Barrett Business Services

In other news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 12,354 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 91,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,903,352.80. This trade represents a 11.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,061 shares of company stock worth $1,406,470 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter valued at $3,849,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,110,550 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $91,682,000 after acquiring an additional 276,098 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,091 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 7,301 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Barrett Business Services

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.