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 during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 848,600 shares, a drop of 11.5% from the July 15th total of 958,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 370,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $135.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 308,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,172. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $116.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.75. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a one year low of $71.65 and a one year high of $138.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 1.45.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.15. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The firm had revenue of $670.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $666.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 4,000 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.95, for a total transaction of $435,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,470,602.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 4,000 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.95, for a total transaction of $435,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,470,602.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lightfoot Sara Lawrence sold 4,597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.23, for a total transaction of $492,936.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,232 shares of company stock worth $4,100,300. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $54,890,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cannon Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $119.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.43.

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.