Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $115.00. The stock had previously closed at $104.27, but opened at $111.02. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Bright Horizons Family Solutions shares last traded at $108.94, with a volume of 121,963 shares trading hands.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BFAM. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $103.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Elizabeth J. Boland sold 15,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.77, for a total value of $1,779,362.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 89,983 shares in the company, valued at $10,237,365.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,500 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $157,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,911,565. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth J. Boland sold 15,640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.77, for a total value of $1,779,362.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,237,365.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 25,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,054,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 23,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Up 6.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $111.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 1.38.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.12. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 3.07%. The firm had revenue of $615.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $588.63 million. Research analysts forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

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.