Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Short Interest Up 48.6% in December

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 955,900 shares, a growth of 48.6% from the November 30th total of 643,300 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 579,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BFAM. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of 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 research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Down 1.1 %

BFAM traded down $1.24 during trading on Monday, hitting $109.29. 26,622 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 408,129. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 1 year low of $91.61 and a 1 year high of $141.90. The firm has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.92 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.13. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $719.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.94, for a total transaction of $109,552.00. Following the completion of 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. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in 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 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 850.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 73.3% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 68.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter.

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.