Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) reached a new 52-week low on Monday. The stock traded as low as $51.66 and last traded at $51.7150, with a volume of 136,630 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFAM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bright Horizons Family Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.50.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Up 0.3%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.81. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.45.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.04. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a positive return on equity of 23.72% and a negative net margin of 4.38%. The business had revenue of $841.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $842.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, COO Mary Burke sold 1,200 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $90,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 30,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,320,875. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary Tocio sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $435,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,001.85. This represents a 29.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the third quarter worth $28,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the first quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 3,055.6% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company Profile

Bright Horizons Family Solutions provides early education and child care, back-up care, and other services that help employers support employees’ family and education needs. Its offerings include center-based child care and preschool, care for children and adults when regular arrangements are unavailable, and education-related programs for employers. Founded in 1986, the company works with employers and families through a network of early education and care centers and employer-sponsored programs.