Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Takes Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners acquired 285,000 shares of Barrett Business Services in the first quarter, worth about $8.3 million and representing approximately 1.16% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 86.76% of BBSI.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $41.50, compared with the stock’s recent opening price of $39.74.
• Barrett Business Services beat first-quarter earnings expectations, reporting a loss of $0.13 per share versus the projected $0.15 loss, while revenue rose 4.9% year over year to $307 million. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.08, yielding about 0.8% annually.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 285,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,316,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned approximately 1.16% of Barrett Business Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 49,800 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,207,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,219 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.9% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 37,091 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 11,776 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on BBSI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Barrett Business Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 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 reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of Barrett Business Services stock opened at $39.74 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $35.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.02. The stock has a market cap of $976.01 million, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.95. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.33 and a 1-year high of $49.65.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.The firm had revenue of $307.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $306.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In other news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director owned 44,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,701,168.25. The trade was a 21.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $132,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,217,330. This represents a 9.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,779 shares of company stock worth $786,233. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

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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