Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 48,700 shares, a drop of 19.9% from the March 31st total of 60,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 29,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company's stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Barrett Business Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 346,058 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 315,370 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,459,000 after acquiring an additional 12,997 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 193,903 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,454,000 after acquiring an additional 18,897 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 84,945 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,837,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 53,936 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,867,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of BBSI traded down $1.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $121.77. 24,877 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,466. Barrett Business Services has a 1 year low of $76.22 and a 1 year high of $130.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $120.79 and its 200-day moving average is $112.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $796.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.35.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The business services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.29. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 27.69% and a net margin of 4.73%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $141.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Monday, April 22nd.

Barrett Business Services Company Profile

Barrett Business Services, Inc provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. The company develops a management platform that integrates a knowledge-based approach from the management consulting industry with tools from the human resource outsourcing industry.