Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Short Interest Up 6.6% in December

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 643,400 shares, a growth of 6.6% from the December 15th total of 603,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 119,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total value of $130,230.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,205,756.16. This represents a 9.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Stephen Clabby purchased 1,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.01 per share, with a total value of $70,321.35. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,174.27. This represents a 16.87 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Barrett Business Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ironwood Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 155.0% in the second quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 87,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,879,000 after acquiring an additional 53,405 shares during the period. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 259.8% in the second quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 378,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,413,000 after purchasing an additional 273,516 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Barrett Business Services by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 18,414 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 19.3% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 236.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,834,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,810,000 after buying an additional 1,289,147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BBSI. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Barrett Business Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $43.86 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.42. Barrett Business Services has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $44.97.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

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

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.