TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of TrueBlue from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

TrueBlue Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of TrueBlue stock opened at $5.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $169.19 million, a P/E ratio of -1.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.64. TrueBlue has a 1-year low of $5.53 and a 1-year high of $12.66.

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The business services provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $385.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.04 million. TrueBlue had a negative return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 8.02%. Analysts predict that TrueBlue will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at TrueBlue

In other news, CEO Taryn R. Owen bought 12,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.94 per share, for a total transaction of $75,645.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 414,932 shares in the company, valued at $2,464,696.08. The trade was a 3.17 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Carl Schweihs purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.25 per share, for a total transaction of $62,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,040,943.75. This trade represents a 6.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TrueBlue

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in TrueBlue during the 3rd quarter worth $79,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in TrueBlue during the 4th quarter valued at about $108,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in TrueBlue during the 4th quarter valued at about $116,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of TrueBlue by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 3,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of TrueBlue by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 17,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 3,393 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.15% of the company’s stock.

TrueBlue Company Profile

TrueBlue, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides specialized workforce solutions in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Puerto Rico. It operates through three segments: PeopleReady, PeopleManagement, and PeopleScout. The company PeopleReady segment provides general, industrial, and skilled trade contingent staffing services for construction, transportation, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and renewable energy industries.