Short Interest in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Grows By 10.2%

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 325,500 shares, a growth of 10.2% from the June 30th total of 295,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 157,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on BBSI shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.25 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com lowered Barrett Business Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Sidoti lowered Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.01, for a total value of $79,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $864,663.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 12,014.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 848 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter worth about $227,000. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter worth about $226,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 0.1 %

Barrett Business Services stock traded down $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $36.44. 131,159 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 137,350. The firm has a market cap of $953.63 million, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.04. Barrett Business Services has a 1 year low of $21.59 and a 1 year high of $36.99.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.08. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 26.58% and a net margin of 4.60%. The firm had revenue of $265.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Barrett Business Services will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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.