Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Short Interest Update

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 860,600 shares, an increase of 20.5% from the February 13th total of 713,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 480,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFAM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird raised 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Baird R W upgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bright Horizons Family Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.67.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE BFAM traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.69. The company had a trading volume of 358,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 406,418. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a one year low of $100.59 and a one year high of $141.90. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.53. The stock has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 53.62 and a beta of 1.50.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In related news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $124,690.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 33,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,170,755.81. This trade represents a 2.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares in the company, valued at $2,838,708.18. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 24,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after buying an additional 7,206 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,520,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 28,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after buying an additional 1,274 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.