Short Interest in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Grows By 10.8%

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 406,000 shares, an increase of 10.8% from the September 15th total of 366,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 359,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $128.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $114.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $119.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.63.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of BFAM stock traded down $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $131.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 550,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,657. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $71.65 and a fifty-two week high of $141.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $137.12 and its 200-day moving average is $120.08. The company has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a PE ratio of 93.08 and a beta of 1.48.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $670.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $666.17 million. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 12.86%. Bright Horizons Family Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 800 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.65, for a total transaction of $112,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,186.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.65, for a total value of $112,520.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,825 shares in the company, valued at $4,476,186.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.93, for a total transaction of $327,325.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,961,549.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,635 shares of company stock worth $3,100,340. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 850.0% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 68.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock worth $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.