Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Short Interest Update

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 955,900 shares, an increase of 48.6% from the November 30th total of 643,300 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 579,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total value of $573,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,897,230.47. This represents a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 800 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.94, for a total transaction of $109,552.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,248,563.50. This trade represents a 2.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 850.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 68.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on BFAM shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bright Horizons Family Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:BFAM traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $110.53. The stock had a trading volume of 318,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,677. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a PE ratio of 55.54 and a beta of 1.43. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 52 week low of $91.61 and a 52 week high of $141.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $116.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.89. 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 (NYSE:BFAM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $719.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $713.16 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.