Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $138.25.

BFAM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:BFAM opened at $112.82 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $113.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.69 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 1-year low of $92.40 and a 1-year high of $141.90.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $719.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $713.16 million. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 4.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total value of $573,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,897,230.47. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 73.3% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 68.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company Profile

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.