TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut TrueBlue from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of TrueBlue in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $5.50 price objective on TrueBlue in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.75.

TrueBlue Price Performance

TBI stock opened at $4.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.60 million, a PE ratio of -2.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.47. TrueBlue has a 1 year low of $3.18 and a 1 year high of $7.78.

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.17). TrueBlue had a negative net margin of 2.97% and a negative return on equity of 6.87%. The company had revenue of $418.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $413.31 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that TrueBlue will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TrueBlue news, CEO Taryn R. Owen acquired 20,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.79 per share, for a total transaction of $77,316.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 791,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,000,948.53. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Carl Schweihs acquired 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.72 per share, for a total transaction of $46,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 289,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,075,336.68. The trade was a 4.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in TrueBlue by 11.4% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 18,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in TrueBlue by 6.5% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 43,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in TrueBlue by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 17,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in TrueBlue by 0.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,490,000 after purchasing an additional 3,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in TrueBlue by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 74,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270 shares in the last quarter. 97.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About TrueBlue

TrueBlue, Inc is a Tacoma, Washington–based workforce solutions provider specializing in temporary staffing, permanent placement and managed service solutions. Operating through its subsidiaries and brands, TrueBlue connects clients across manufacturing, logistics, retail, construction and public sector markets with skilled professionals for both short-term and long-term engagements. The company’s offerings encompass on-demand blue-collar labor, specialized industrial staffing, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and contingent workforce management.

TrueBlue’s primary service lines include PeopleReady, which supplies general labor for construction, hospitality and event services; PeopleManagement, which focuses on technical and industrial professionals; PeopleScout, a global RPO business offering end-to-end talent acquisition and consulting; and Staff Management | SMX, which delivers seasonal staffing for large-scale events, amusement parks and federal workforce contracts.