Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $318.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $319.27 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 4.49%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BBSI traded down $3.40 on Thursday, hitting $37.32. The company had a trading volume of 167,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 151,230. Barrett Business Services has a 1-year low of $36.81 and a 1-year high of $49.65. The stock has a market cap of $958.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is currently 15.76%.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, CEO Gary Kramer sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total value of $3,868,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 287,040 shares in the company, valued at $13,878,384. The trade was a 21.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Gerald Blotz sold 11,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.08, for a total transaction of $537,477.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 197,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,097,666.56. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,438 shares of company stock valued at $5,296,983. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 270.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 192.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,266 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the second quarter valued at about $238,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 71.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 4,085 shares during the period. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the second quarter valued at about $473,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on BBSI shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

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.