Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $137.67.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 27th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE BFAM opened at $127.19 on Wednesday. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a one year low of $100.59 and a one year high of $141.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $122.75 and its 200-day moving average is $123.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.99 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

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

Insider Transactions at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total transaction of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 33,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,170,755.81. The trade was a 2.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total value of $311,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,838,708.18. The trade was a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bright Horizons Family Solutions

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

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.