Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Short Interest Down 5.4% in October

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) saw a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 461,500 shares, a decline of 5.4% from the October 15th total of 487,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 126,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBSI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Barrett Business Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research raised their price objective on Barrett Business Services from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Activity at Barrett Business Services

In related news, CEO Gary Kramer sold 34,288 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total value of $1,201,794.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,501,132.15. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake 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 worth $68,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,147 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 281.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 867,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,435,000 after purchasing an additional 640,508 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 299.4% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 798,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,167,000 after purchasing an additional 598,567 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the third quarter worth about $16,422,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 155.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 535,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,561,000 after buying an additional 326,502 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Stock Down 0.2 %

BBSI stock opened at $41.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.39. Barrett Business Services has a 52 week low of $26.60 and a 52 week high of $43.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.09.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.89%.

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.