Short Interest in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Rises By 8.8%

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) was the target of a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 535,500 shares, a growth of 8.8% from the October 15th total of 492,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 414,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock traded down $3.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.00. 1,056,608 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 673,937. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $131.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.63. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.26 and a beta of 1.49. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $85.95 and a fifty-two week high of $141.90.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $719.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.16 million. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 13.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BFAM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $104.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bright Horizons Family Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.13.

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In related news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 800 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.65, for a total transaction of $112,520.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,476,186.25. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bright Horizons Family Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 924,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,597 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 19,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,796 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 6,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,175,000.

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.