Short Interest in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Increases By 10.2%

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 325,500 shares, a growth of 10.2% from the June 30th total of 295,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 157,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Activity at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.01, for a total value of $79,230.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $864,663.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 337.5% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 10,291 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Barrett Business Services by 97.9% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,723 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 6,789 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Barrett Business Services by 300.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 300.0% during the second quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 15,540 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 11,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 401.6% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 65,124 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,134,000 after acquiring an additional 52,140 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Shares of Barrett Business Services stock traded up $0.36 on Tuesday, reaching $36.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,436. Barrett Business Services has a fifty-two week low of $21.59 and a fifty-two week high of $36.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.98. The stock has a market cap of $942.38 million, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.38.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.08. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 26.58% and a net margin of 4.60%. The firm had revenue of $265.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBSI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sidoti downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.25 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th.

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.