TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on TBI. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TrueBlue from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of TrueBlue in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $5.50 price objective on shares of TrueBlue in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.75.

TrueBlue Trading Up 2.7%

TBI traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $4.68. The stock had a trading volume of 69,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,899. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.47. TrueBlue has a 1-year low of $3.18 and a 1-year high of $7.78.

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $418.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $413.31 million. TrueBlue had a negative return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 2.97%. As a group, research analysts forecast that TrueBlue will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Taryn R. Owen acquired 20,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.79 per share, for a total transaction of $77,316.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 791,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,000,948.53. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Carl Schweihs acquired 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.72 per share, for a total transaction of $46,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 289,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,075,336.68. This trade represents a 4.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners grew its position in TrueBlue by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,220,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,106,000 after purchasing an additional 606,446 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in TrueBlue by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,012,217 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,156,000 after purchasing an additional 492,984 shares in the last quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. grew its position in TrueBlue by 1.3% in the first quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,001,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,918,000 after purchasing an additional 13,070 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in TrueBlue by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,490,000 after purchasing an additional 3,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in TrueBlue by 80.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 656,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 293,363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.15% of the company’s stock.

About TrueBlue

TrueBlue, Inc is a Tacoma, Washington–based workforce solutions provider specializing in temporary staffing, permanent placement and managed service solutions. Operating through its subsidiaries and brands, TrueBlue connects clients across manufacturing, logistics, retail, construction and public sector markets with skilled professionals for both short-term and long-term engagements. The company’s offerings encompass on-demand blue-collar labor, specialized industrial staffing, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and contingent workforce management.

TrueBlue’s primary service lines include PeopleReady, which supplies general labor for construction, hospitality and event services; PeopleManagement, which focuses on technical and industrial professionals; PeopleScout, a global RPO business offering end-to-end talent acquisition and consulting; and Staff Management | SMX, which delivers seasonal staffing for large-scale events, amusement parks and federal workforce contracts.