Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 860,600 shares, an increase of 20.5% from the February 13th total of 713,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 480,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $124,690.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 33,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,170,755.81. This represents a 2.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total value of $311,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,838,708.18. The trade was a 9.90 % 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFAM. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $234,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 42.4% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 24,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after acquiring an additional 7,206 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the third quarter valued at about $275,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the third quarter worth about $4,520,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 28,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

Shares of BFAM stock traded down $1.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $127.19. The stock had a trading volume of 299,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 406,654. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 52.99 and a beta of 1.50. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 12 month low of $100.59 and a 12 month high of $141.90.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.03). Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 5.22%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BFAM. Robert W. Baird raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Baird R W raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.67.

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.