Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. by purchasing 9,691 shares valued at approximately $404,000.
• Barrett Business Services reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.70, exceeding the expected $0.65 and showing a 10% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 15.76%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,691 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 38,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. CWC Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 11,021 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,900 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 23,827 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,400 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Shares of BBSI opened at $44.73 on Monday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $46.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.19. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.81 and a 12 month high of $49.65.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $307.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $299.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BBSI. Wall Street Zen upgraded Barrett Business Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 7th. Barrington Research upped their target price on Barrett Business Services from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary Kramer sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total transaction of $3,868,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 287,040 shares in the company, valued at $13,878,384. This trade represents a 21.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 3,064 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total value of $143,333.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 54,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,554,234.78. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 123,765 shares of company stock worth $5,866,179 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.10% 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.

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