Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $137.67.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE BFAM opened at $126.29 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $7.35 billion, a PE ratio of 52.62 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm's 50-day moving average is $116.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.69.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 5.22% and a return on equity of 13.63%. Equities analysts anticipate that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total transaction of $573,550.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFAM. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.