Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Barrett Business Services' stock rating was upgraded from "hold" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen, indicating a positive shift in investor sentiment.
• Barrington Research raised its price target for the company from $45.00 to $49.00, maintaining an "outperform" rating based on recent earnings reports.
• Insider selling has been noted, with key executives reducing their stakes in the company, which could signal mixed signals about future performance.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Separately, Barrington Research raised their price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BBSI traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.37. 110,395 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 164,665. Barrett Business Services has a fifty-two week low of $34.43 and a fifty-two week high of $48.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.01.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 24.59%. The business had revenue of $307.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,064 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.64, for a total transaction of $145,968.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,323,248.64. This trade represents a 9.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 12,646 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total transaction of $602,202.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 94,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,509,233.04. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,417 shares of company stock valued at $1,628,361. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $75,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 270.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,999 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,309 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.