Two Sigma Investments LP Invests $353,000 in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 6,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $298,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 12,354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total transaction of $526,280.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 91,628 shares in the company, valued at $3,903,352.80. This represents a 11.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBSI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ BBSI opened at $42.29 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.74. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.77 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.09. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 4.55%. The firm had revenue of $292.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Barrett Business Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is currently 16.41%.

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.