Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on BFAM. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bright Horizons Family Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.25.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of BFAM opened at $116.33 on Wednesday. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 12 month low of $94.83 and a 12 month high of $141.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $112.44 and its 200-day moving average is $124.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 58.46 and a beta of 1.44. 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 (NYSE:BFAM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.05. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 13.23%. The company had revenue of $719.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $713.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total value of $573,550.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,897,230.47. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 15.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,181,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,761,000 after purchasing an additional 423,456 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 999,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,027,000 after purchasing an additional 3,970 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 924,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,597 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 784,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,395,000 after purchasing an additional 51,024 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 3.2% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 707,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,126,000 after purchasing an additional 21,935 shares during the period.

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.