Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC Makes New $10.85 Million Investment in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Key Points

• Grandeur Peak Global Advisors acquired 32,570 Barrett Business Services shares worth approximately $10.85 million, making BBSI its 11th-largest holding and representing about 0.13% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $41 price target, although Roth Capital downgraded the stock to “Neutral” and cut its target to $38.
• BBSI’s latest quarterly earnings missed expectations, reporting $0.52 in EPS versus $0.56 expected, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08. Insiders have sold 20,779 shares worth roughly $786,000 over the past 90 days.

Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 32,570 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,847,000. Barrett Business Services accounts for approximately 2.1% of Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Barrett Business Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.0% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 49,800 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,219 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 37,091 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,644,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 24,236 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BBSI. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Barrett Business Services from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barrington Research set a $44.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Roth Capital downgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barrett Business Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In other news, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $132,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,217,330. The trade was a 9.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total value of $454,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 44,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,701,168.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,779 shares of company stock worth $786,233. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Barrett Business Services Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Barrett Business Services stock opened at $34.15 on Friday. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.33 and a 12 month high of $49.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $827.63 million, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.58.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $319.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $321.55 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 2.77%. Analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. 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 will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio is 23.53%.

Barrett Business Services Company Profile

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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