Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Short Interest Update

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 418,700 shares, an increase of 9.4% from the September 15th total of 382,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 149,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In other news, CEO Gary Kramer sold 805 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $28,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 276,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,689,085. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,133 shares of company stock worth $1,231,357. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 259.8% during the second quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 378,786 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,413,000 after buying an additional 273,516 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 155.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 87,856 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,879,000 after acquiring an additional 53,405 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 2nd quarter worth $758,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 281.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 867,708 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,435,000 after purchasing an additional 640,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 155.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 0.5 %

BBSI traded up $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 89,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,914. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $36.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.67. The firm has a market cap of $977.34 million, a PE ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.38. Barrett Business Services has a one year low of $21.59 and a one year high of $37.81.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $279.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.13 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 25.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Barrett Business Services will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. This is an increase from Barrett Business Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BBSI shares. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of Barrett Business Services from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

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.