Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on BFAM. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.33.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of BFAM opened at $128.51 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $115.19 and its 200-day moving average is $124.56. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 12 month low of $100.59 and a 12 month high of $141.90. The firm has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.58 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last posted its earnings results 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 4.44% and a return on equity of 13.23%. Equities analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In related news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total transaction of $573,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,897,230.47. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,442,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,332,000 after purchasing an additional 101,151 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,958,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,868,117 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,546,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,141,000 after acquiring an additional 511,905 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,181,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,761,000 after acquiring an additional 423,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,370,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,752,000 after acquiring an additional 532,644 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.