Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy” among six brokerages, with three holds, two buys, and one strong buy; the average 12-month price target is $41, versus a recent share price of $31.90.
• Institutional investors own 86.76% of BBSI, with BlackRock establishing a new position worth approximately $72.8 million and other large funds also increasing or initiating holdings.
• The company’s latest quarter fell slightly short of expectations, reporting EPS of $0.52 versus $0.56 expected and revenue of $319.27 million versus $321.55 million expected. BBSI also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, yielding about 1.0% annually.

Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BBSI shares. Roth Capital lowered shares of Barrett Business Services from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Barrington Research set a $44.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,793,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 661,181 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $19,295,000 after acquiring an additional 25,221 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 639,462 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,660,000 after acquiring an additional 8,600 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $15,984,000. Finally, Tieton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the second quarter worth $11,345,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $31.90 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $32.78 and its 200-day moving average is $33.20. Barrett Business Services has a 52 week low of $25.33 and a 52 week high of $43.53. The firm has a market cap of $773.26 million, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.94.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $319.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.55 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 20.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.53%.

Barrett Business Services Company Profile

Barrett Business Services, Inc NASDAQ: BBSI is a provider of business management and workforce solutions for small and midsize businesses in the United States. The company combines professional employer organization (PEO) services with staffing and management consulting to help clients manage employment-related responsibilities and day-to-day operations.

Its services include payroll administration, human resources support, employee benefits administration, risk management, workers' compensation management, and regulatory compliance assistance.

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