Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Stock Rating Upgraded by 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.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Barrington Research increased their price target on Barrett Business Services from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $46.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Barrett Business Services has a 1-year low of $34.36 and a 1-year high of $48.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.95.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,064 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.64, for a total value of $145,968.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,323,248.64. This represents a 9.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Gerald Blotz sold 13,327 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total value of $569,196.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 209,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,930,490.16. This represents a 5.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,771 shares of company stock valued at $2,154,641 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter worth about $75,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 270.2% during 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 in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 26.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter worth about $163,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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