Short Interest in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Decreases By 19.9%

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 48,700 shares, a drop of 19.9% from the March 31st total of 60,800 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 29,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AJOVista LLC purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 120,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its stake in Barrett Business Services by 82.2% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 4th quarter worth $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $141.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Monday, April 22nd.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ BBSI traded down $1.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $121.77. The stock had a trading volume of 24,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,466. Barrett Business Services has a one year low of $76.22 and a one year high of $130.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $796.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.35.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The business services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 27.69% and a net margin of 4.73%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Barrett Business Services will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.15%.

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.