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

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

BFAM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of 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, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 27th.

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 22,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,838,708.18. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

BFAM opened at $124.58 on Wednesday. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 52-week low of $100.59 and a 52-week high of $141.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of 51.91 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.24.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.