Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFAM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,838,708.18. This represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total transaction of $124,690.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 33,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,170,755.81. This represents a 2.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $11,340,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 145,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,121,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,265,000.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BFAM traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, reaching $126.96. 412,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 421,616. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.90 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 52 week low of $100.59 and a 52 week high of $141.90.

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

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.