Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Trading Down 7.2%

Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) were down 7.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $113.67 and last traded at $113.67. Approximately 9,983 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 29,722 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BBSI. StockNews.com raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $141.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Thursday.

Barrett Business Services Trading Up 3.3 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $806.91 million, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.37.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by $0.29. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 26.72% and a net margin of 4.60%. The business had revenue of $265.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BBSI. Private Capital Management LLC increased its position in Barrett Business Services by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 346,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 315,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,459,000 after buying an additional 12,997 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $22,454,000 after buying an additional 18,897 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Barrett Business Services by 1.5% during 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 buying an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted 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 purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

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.