Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Raises Stock Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 150.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC’s holdings in Barrett Business Services were worth $264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 281.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 867,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,435,000 after purchasing an additional 640,508 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 299.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 798,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,167,000 after buying an additional 598,567 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the second quarter worth $17,870,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Barrett Business Services by 155.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 535,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,561,000 after acquiring an additional 326,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $40,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 1.3 %

BBSI stock opened at $36.89 on Friday. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.59 and a 52 week high of $37.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $965.30 million, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.42.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 25.69%. The firm had revenue of $279.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This is a boost from Barrett Business Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is 17.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary Kramer sold 34,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total value of $1,201,794.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,543 shares in the company, valued at $8,501,132.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $1,231,357. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on BBSI. Barrington Research increased their price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Barrett Business Services from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

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.