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

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 47,000 shares, an increase of 18.1% from the May 15th total of 39,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 32,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BBSI shares. StockNews.com downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Sidoti downgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $141.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Barrett Business Services news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.05, for a total value of $79,230.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $864,663.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Barrett Business Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AJOVista LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the third quarter valued at $45,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 120,000.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $227,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth $218,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $135.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $883.03 million, a PE ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.49. Barrett Business Services has a one year low of $82.44 and a one year high of $137.37.

Barrett Business Services’s stock is scheduled to split before the market opens on Monday, June 24th. The 4-1 split was announced on Monday, June 24th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, June 24th.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by $0.29. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.60% and a return on equity of 26.58%. The business had revenue of $265.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Barrett Business Services will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is 16.46%.

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.