Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Short Interest Update

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 684,900 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the April 30th total of 576,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 157,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BBSI shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Barrett Business Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 12,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total transaction of $526,280.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 91,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,903,352.80. The trade was a 11.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter worth $658,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,732,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $322,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,747,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,219 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Barrett Business Services stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 90,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,991. Barrett Business Services has a 1-year low of $31.77 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.87 and a 200 day moving average of $41.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $292.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.91 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.55% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.41%.

About Barrett Business Services

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.