Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI Shares Bought by GW&K Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• GW&K Investment Management increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, ending with 514,047 shares valued at about $18.6 million.
• Analysts are cautiously positive on BBSI, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.50, though some firms recently lowered their targets or upgraded the stock only to hold.
• The company posted mixed but solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates in its latest report, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share for a 0.9% annualized yield.

GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 514,047 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 37,947 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 2.01% of Barrett Business Services worth $18,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBSI. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 870,863 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,534,000 after purchasing an additional 208,865 shares during the last quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 121.3% during the third quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 399,686 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,714,000 after purchasing an additional 219,049 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 193,145 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,994,000 after purchasing an additional 63,854 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter worth $622,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter worth $881,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBSI has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Barrett Business Services from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research raised Barrett Business Services from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Barrett Business Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ BBSI opened at $34.34 on Thursday. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.33 and a fifty-two week high of $49.65. The stock has a market cap of $843.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.65 and a 200-day moving average of $32.84.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $307.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.68 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Barrett Business Services news, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.68, for a total transaction of $51,710.04. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary Kramer purchased 8,370 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction 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 owned 328,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,841,458.89. This represents a 2.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

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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