Short Interest in TrueBlue, Inc. (NYSE:TBI) Drops By 17.9%

TrueBlue, Inc. (NYSE:TBI) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 828,800 shares, a decline of 17.9% from the December 15th total of 1,010,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 181,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

TrueBlue Stock Performance

Shares of TBI opened at $8.06 on Friday. TrueBlue has a 12-month low of $6.63 and a 12-month high of $14.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $7.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.31.

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The business services provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $382.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $386.07 million. TrueBlue had a negative net margin of 6.97% and a negative return on equity of 2.69%. TrueBlue’s revenue was down 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that TrueBlue will post -0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of TrueBlue

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in TrueBlue during the third quarter worth about $79,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in TrueBlue during the third quarter worth about $149,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in TrueBlue during the second quarter worth about $208,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in TrueBlue during the third quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in TrueBlue by 19.4% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 22,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 3,689 shares during the period. 97.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on TBI. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on TrueBlue from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of TrueBlue from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 27th.

About TrueBlue

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.