StockNews.com Downgrades Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) to Hold

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

BBSI has been the topic of several other research reports. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Barrett Business Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BBSI traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $40.18. The company had a trading volume of 167,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,621. Barrett Business Services has a one year low of $28.42 and a one year high of $44.97. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $42.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,000 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $130,230.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,205,756.16. The trade was a 9.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Barrett Business Services

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBSI. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Barrett Business Services by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,110,550 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $91,682,000 after purchasing an additional 276,098 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Barrett Business Services by 272.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,631,644 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $70,879,000 after buying an additional 1,193,839 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 705,598 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,471,000 after purchasing an additional 32,632 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 19.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 546,510 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $20,500,000 after buying an additional 88,350 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 393,267 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,084,000 after acquiring an additional 15,900 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.