FourThought Financial Partners LLC Makes New $622,000 Investment in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 17,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $622,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $881,000. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 38,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,392,000 after acquiring an additional 5,267 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 15,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,261 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 60,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 14,428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary Kramer bought 8,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.89 per share, with a total value of $225,069.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 328,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,841,458.89. This represents a 2.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.68, for a total value of $51,710.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $970,445.16. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $31.02 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.18. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.33 and a 1 year high of $49.65. The company has a market capitalization of $761.85 million, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.97.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.02. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.The business had revenue of $307.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.68 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on BBSI shares. Zacks Research upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.50.

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.