Royce & Associates LP Raises Stock Position in TrueBlue, Inc. (NYSE:TBI)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in TrueBlue, Inc. by 23.5%, owning approximately 1.88 million shares valued at nearly $10 million after acquiring additional shares in the first quarter.
• TrueBlue's recent earnings report showed a loss of ($0.40) EPS, which was below analysts' expectations of ($0.23), despite revenue surpassing estimates.
• The stock price of TrueBlue has had significant fluctuations, with a twelve-month low of $3.45 and a high of $12.29, currently trading at around $7.36.

Royce & Associates LP raised its position in TrueBlue, Inc. (NYSE:TBI - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,880,732 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 357,539 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 6.31% of TrueBlue worth $9,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TBI. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of TrueBlue by 55.2% during the 1st quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,616 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 6,973 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of TrueBlue by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,835,167 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,055,000 after purchasing an additional 46,539 shares during the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TrueBlue during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,385,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in TrueBlue by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 89,696 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 3,130 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in TrueBlue by 217.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,135 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 5,570 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.15% of the company's stock.

TrueBlue Price Performance

NYSE:TBI traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $7.16. The stock had a trading volume of 39,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 251,445. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80. TrueBlue, Inc. has a one year low of $3.45 and a one year high of $12.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.56 and a beta of 1.53.

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The business services provider reported ($0.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.17). TrueBlue had a negative return on equity of 8.25% and a negative net margin of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $370.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.37 million. Research analysts forecast that TrueBlue, Inc. will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About TrueBlue

TrueBlue, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides specialized workforce solutions in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Puerto Rico. It operates through three segments: PeopleReady, PeopleManagement, and PeopleScout. The company PeopleReady segment provides general, industrial, and skilled trade contingent staffing services for construction, transportation, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and renewable energy industries.