Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $32.84 and traded as high as $39.26. Barrett Business Services shares last traded at $38.46, with a volume of 210,756 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BBSI shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.63 and its 200-day moving average is $32.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $990.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.95.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.02. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The company had revenue of $307.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Barrett Business Services news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total transaction of $454,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 44,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,701,168.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $132,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,217,330. The trade was a 9.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,779 shares of company stock valued at $786,233. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 131.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter worth $8,316,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 114.2% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 75,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,192,000 after acquiring an additional 40,052 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 639,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,660,000 after acquiring an additional 8,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 102.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 168,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,913,000 after acquiring an additional 85,230 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Barrett Business Services

Barrett Business Services, Inc (NASDAQ: BBSI) is a professional employer organization (PEO) headquartered in Northridge, California. Founded in 1971 by Barrett K. Levesque, the company provides comprehensive human resources outsourcing solutions to small and mid-sized businesses. Through its consultative model, Barrett Business Services helps clients streamline administrative processes, mitigate regulatory risk and focus on core operations.

The company’s core offerings include payroll administration, employee benefits management, workers’ compensation and risk management services.