Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Short Interest Up 14.8% in August

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 68,100 shares, an increase of 14.8% from the August 15th total of 59,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 28,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 1,359 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.83, for a total value of $130,232.97. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,506,543.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 306 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 4,307.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 617 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 26.9% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.91% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Barrett Business Services stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $92.08. 3,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 45,261. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.74. Barrett Business Services has a twelve month low of $75.94 and a twelve month high of $100.85. The firm has a market cap of $619.70 million, a PE ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The business services provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.39% and a return on equity of 26.72%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBSI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the 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.