Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Short Interest Up 10.2% in July

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) saw a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 325,500 shares, a growth of 10.2% from the June 30th total of 295,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 157,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.01, for a total transaction of $79,230.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $864,663.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 346,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 193,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,454,000 after purchasing an additional 18,897 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 314.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 192,158 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,297,000 after purchasing an additional 145,799 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 88.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 86,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,831,000 after buying an additional 40,519 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Barrett Business Services by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 84,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,837,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:BBSI traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $36.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,436. The company has a market capitalization of $942.38 million, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.38. Barrett Business Services has a twelve month low of $21.59 and a twelve month high of $36.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.98.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.08. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.60% and a return on equity of 26.58%. The company had revenue of $265.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Barrett Business Services will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BBSI. Sidoti lowered Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Barrett Business Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.25 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th.

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.