Heartland Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors purchased 450,000 shares of Barrett Business Services worth approximately $16.0 million, giving it a 1.86% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.76% of the company.
• Barrett Business Services reported quarterly revenue of $319.27 million and earnings of $0.52 per share, missing analyst estimates of $321.55 million and $0.56, respectively. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, representing a 1.0% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $41.00 versus the reported share price of $33.55, although Roth Capital downgraded the stock to “neutral” and lowered its target to $38.00.

Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 450,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,984,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 1.86% of Barrett Business Services as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BBSI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $72,793,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,053 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $71,118,000 after buying an additional 13,331 shares during the last quarter. Private Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 999,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,187,000 after acquiring an additional 12,117 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 870,863 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,534,000 after acquiring an additional 208,865 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 821,560 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,749,000 after acquiring an additional 109,069 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barrett Business Services Trading Up 1.0%

Barrett Business Services stock opened at $33.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $813.08 million, a PE ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.94. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.33 and a 12 month high of $49.65. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $36.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.72.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.04). Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The firm had revenue of $319.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $321.55 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Barrett Business Services's payout ratio is presently 23.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total transaction of $454,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 44,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,701,168.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $132,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,035 shares in the company, valued at $1,217,330. This trade represents a 9.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 20,779 shares of company stock valued at $786,233 in the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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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