Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 643,400 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the December 31st total of 603,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 119,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Barrett Business Services news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 4,584 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $3,778,738.72. This trade represents a 4.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,000 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $130,230.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,205,756.16. This represents a 9.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBSI. Inceptionr LLC grew its position in Barrett Business Services by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 6,939 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,754 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,018 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 46,107 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,003,000 after buying an additional 7,653 shares during the period. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of Barrett Business Services stock traded down $0.44 on Thursday, reaching $43.27. The company had a trading volume of 102,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 81,185. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $43.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.32. Barrett Business Services has a 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on BBSI. StockNews.com raised Barrett Business Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Barrett Business Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

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.