Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Makes New $8.32 Million Investment in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 285,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,316,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trigran Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 648,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,491,000 after purchasing an additional 249,052 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 870,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,534,000 after purchasing an additional 208,865 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services during the second quarter worth $5,536,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 821,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,749,000 after purchasing an additional 109,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 194.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 150,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,456,000 after buying an additional 99,508 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barrett Business Services Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of BBSI stock opened at $39.74 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $976.01 million, a PE ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.95. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.33 and a 52 week high of $49.65.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $307.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.68 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is presently 20.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Barrett Business Services news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total transaction of $454,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 44,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,701,168.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $132,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,035 shares in the company, valued at $1,217,330. This represents a 9.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,779 shares of company stock worth $786,233. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BBSI shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Profile

Barrett Business Services, Inc (NASDAQ: BBSI) is a professional employer organization (PEO) headquartered in Northridge, California. Founded in 1971 by Barrett K. Levesque, the company provides comprehensive human resources outsourcing solutions to small and mid-sized businesses. Through its consultative model, Barrett Business Services helps clients streamline administrative processes, mitigate regulatory risk and focus on core operations.

The company’s core offerings include payroll administration, employee benefits management, workers’ compensation and risk management services.