Trigran Investments Inc. Acquires 249,052 Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Key Points

• Trigran Investments increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 62.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 249,052 shares and bringing its total holdings to 648,738 shares valued at about $23.5 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to BBSI, and 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors, highlighting strong professional investor interest.
• Barrett Business Services reported quarterly EPS of -$0.13, beating estimates, while revenue came in slightly above expectations at $307.01 million; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $41.50.

Trigran Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 62.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 648,738 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 249,052 shares during the quarter. Barrett Business Services comprises 4.6% of Trigran Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Trigran Investments Inc. owned 2.53% of Barrett Business Services worth $23,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BBSI. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 152.6% in the fourth quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBSI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Mkm lowered their target price 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 upgraded Barrett Business Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Barrett Business Services from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Barrett Business Services from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

Insider Activity at Barrett Business Services

In other news, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.68, for a total value of $51,710.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at $970,445.16. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $34.17 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $30.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.83. The firm has a market cap of $839.22 million, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.96. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.33 and a 52-week high of $49.65.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $307.01 million for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio is 20.78%.

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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