Short Interest in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Decreases By 6.3%

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 895,600 shares, a decline of 6.3% from the December 15th total of 955,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 590,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE BFAM traded down $0.20 on Monday, reaching $117.47. The company had a trading volume of 256,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,123. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 52 week low of $94.83 and a 52 week high of $141.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $112.11 and its 200-day moving average is $124.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.03 and a beta of 1.44.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 4.44%. The company had revenue of $719.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $713.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Bright Horizons Family Solutions’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total value of $573,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,897,230.47. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 15.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,181,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,761,000 after buying an additional 423,456 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,995,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 570,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,792,000 after purchasing an additional 222,823 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 174.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 344,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,260,000 after purchasing an additional 218,707 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $13,639,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BFAM. StockNews.com raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bright Horizons Family Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.25.

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.