Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 496,400 shares, an increase of 7.6% from the October 31st total of 461,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 126,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBSI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research raised their target price on Barrett Business Services from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Barrett Business Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 0.5 %

BBSI stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $43.30. 167,209 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 137,883. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.90. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.42. Barrett Business Services has a one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $43.82.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 4,584 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total transaction of $189,044.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 91,628 shares in the company, valued at $3,778,738.72. This represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Stephen Clabby bought 1,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.01 per share, with a total value of $70,321.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $487,174.27. The trade was a 16.87 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 259.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 378,786 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,413,000 after acquiring an additional 273,516 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 155.0% in the second quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 87,856 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,879,000 after buying an additional 53,405 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the second quarter worth about $758,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 281.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 867,708 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,435,000 after acquiring an additional 640,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 155.7% in the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 59,324 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,944,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

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.