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

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ: BBSI) from a "strong sell" to a "hold," while the analyst consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $41.50.
• Barrett reported quarterly EPS of $0.64, in line with estimates, with revenue up 5.3% year-over-year; shares opened at $31.57 and the stock trades at a P/E of about 15.1.
• Insider moves included CEO Gary Kramer purchasing 8,370 shares at roughly $26.89 while an EVP sold 1,803 shares, and institutional ownership is high at approximately 86.8%.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $31.57 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.37. The firm has a market cap of $775.36 million, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.99. Barrett Business Services has a 12-month low of $25.33 and a 12-month high of $49.65.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.39% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.68, for a total transaction of $51,710.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at $970,445.16. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary Kramer purchased 8,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.89 per share, for a total transaction of $225,069.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 328,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,841,458.89. This trade represents a 2.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBSI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,219 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter worth about $3,747,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter worth about $1,732,000. Creative Planning increased its position in Barrett Business Services by 71.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,778 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 4,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Barrett Business Services by 40.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 37,923 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 10,994 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Barrett Business Services

Barrett Business Services, Inc NASDAQ: BBSI is a professional employer organization (PEO) headquartered in Northridge, California. Founded in 1971 by Barrett K. Levesque, the company provides comprehensive human resources outsourcing solutions to small and mid-sized businesses. Through its consultative model, Barrett Business Services helps clients streamline administrative processes, mitigate regulatory risk and focus on core operations.

The company's core offerings include payroll administration, employee benefits management, workers' compensation and risk management services.

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