Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Short Interest Up 37.1% in March

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, an increase of 37.1% from the February 28th total of 860,600 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 422,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BFAM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.67.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock opened at $126.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.62. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 12 month low of $100.59 and a 12 month high of $141.90. The company has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.90 and a beta of 1.49.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.03). Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 5.22%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 33,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,170,755.81. The trade was a 2.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total value of $311,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,838,708.18. This represents a 9.90 % 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 insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 129 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.