Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Lifted to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $125.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price target on 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bright Horizons Family Solutions presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $106.63.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Up 6.7 %

Shares of NYSE BFAM traded up $6.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $111.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 651,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 242,604. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.68. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 1 year low of $71.65 and a 1 year high of $119.21.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last released its 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 net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The firm had revenue of $615.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $588.63 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFAM. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 102.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter.

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.