Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $44.97 and last traded at $44.20, with a volume of 5734 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $43.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBSI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Barrett Business Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.35.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is currently 16.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,000 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $130,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,756.16. The trade was a 9.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 4,584 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total transaction of $189,044.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 91,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,778,738.72. This represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $481,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Barrett Business Services by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 2,265 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Barrett Business Services by 19.3% in the 3rd 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Barrett Business Services by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 3,960 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Barrett Business Services by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barrett Business Services Company Profile

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.