Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BFAM. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 27th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bright Horizons Family Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.00.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE BFAM opened at $115.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 52-week low of $94.83 and a 52-week high of $141.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $112.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.05. The stock has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.88 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,897,230.47. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 294,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,682,000 after buying an additional 57,575 shares during the last quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP raised its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP now owns 2,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $271,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $93,000.

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.