Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Short Interest Down 5.4% in October

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 461,500 shares, a decline of 5.4% from the October 15th total of 487,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 126,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of BBSI stock traded down $0.09 on Monday, reaching $41.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 149,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,048. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $37.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.09. Barrett Business Services has a 1 year low of $26.60 and a 1 year high of $43.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.39.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders 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 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Barrett Business Services's payout ratio is 16.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary Kramer sold 34,288 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $1,201,794.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 242,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,501,132.15. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continental Investors Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the third quarter valued at about $216,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 705,598 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,471,000 after acquiring an additional 32,632 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 42.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,332 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,300,000 after acquiring an additional 18,414 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the third quarter valued at about $246,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 5.9% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 52,178 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 2,904 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BBSI shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Barrett Business Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Barrett Business Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of Barrett Business Services from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

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.