Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 397,700 shares, a drop of 17.7% from the August 15th total of 483,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:BFAM opened at $138.30 on Wednesday. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 12-month low of $71.65 and a 12-month high of $141.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.39 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $130.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

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

Insider Transactions at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In related news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 35,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,311,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.93, for a total value of $327,325.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,257 shares in the company, valued at $3,961,549.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 35,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,311,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,635 shares of company stock valued at $3,198,948 over the last 90 days. 1.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BFAM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $57,363,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $64,735,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 4,227.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 294,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,709,000 after acquiring an additional 287,229 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the second quarter worth about $28,995,000. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 1st quarter worth about $27,467,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BFAM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $114.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $119.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $104.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.25.

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.