Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other research firms also recently commented on BBSI. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Barrett Business Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $39.89 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.22. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.31. Barrett Business Services has a 52 week low of $28.42 and a 52 week high of $44.97.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 29.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 3,960 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 1.5% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 24,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the third quarter valued at $16,422,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 5.6% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 18,998 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.