Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Short Interest Up 48.6% in December

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 955,900 shares, an increase of 48.6% from the November 30th total of 643,300 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 579,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.94, for a total value of $109,552.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 31,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,248,563.50. The trade was a 2.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total transaction of $573,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,897,230.47. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the third quarter worth $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the third quarter worth $35,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 850.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFAM traded down $1.90 during trading on Monday, hitting $108.63. 15,042 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 408,069. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $116.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.13. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 52-week low of $91.61 and a 52-week high of $141.90. The company has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.59 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFAM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bright Horizons Family Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.25.

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.