Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Short Interest Update

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 643,400 shares, a growth of 6.6% from the December 31st total of 603,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 119,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BBSI traded down $0.63 during trading on Monday, reaching $42.70. 33,255 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 77,381. Barrett Business Services has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph Stephen Clabby purchased 1,635 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.01 per share, with a total value of $70,321.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,327 shares in the company, valued at $487,174.27. This trade represents a 16.87 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $130,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,205,756.16. This trade represents a 9.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBSI. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Huntington National Bank bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services during the third quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on BBSI shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on Barrett Business Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

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.