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

StockNews.com cut shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

BFAM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Baird R W upgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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 research report on Friday, December 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bright Horizons Family Solutions 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 NYSE BFAM traded down $2.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $116.33. 302,247 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 343,250. The company has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.46 and a beta of 1.44. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $112.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.06. 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 has a one year low of $94.83 and a one year high of $141.90.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $719.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.16 million. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 4.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total value of $573,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,897,230.47. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $93,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the company's stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 98,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,935,000 after purchasing an additional 14,583 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.