Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Short Interest Update

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 860,600 shares, an increase of 20.5% from the February 13th total of 713,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 480,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 33,449 shares in the company, valued at $4,170,755.81. This represents a 2.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total value of $311,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,838,708.18. The trade was a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BFAM. UBS Group reduced their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock opened at $128.69 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $123.01 and a 200 day moving average of $123.57. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 12 month low of $100.59 and a 12 month high of $141.90. The firm has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 53.62 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.03). Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 5.22% and a return on equity of 13.63%. On average, research analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc provides early education and childcare, back-up care, educational advisory, and other workplace solutions services for employers and families in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India. The company operates in three segments: Full Service Center-Based Child Care, Back-Up Care, and Educational Advisory and Other Services.