Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) hit a new 52-week low on Monday. The stock traded as low as $51.66 and last traded at $51.7150, with a volume of 136,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFAM has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $64.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.50.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Down 2.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.13.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $841.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $842.69 million. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a negative net margin of 4.38% and a positive return on equity of 23.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other news, COO Mary Burke sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $90,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 30,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,320,875. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Tocio sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $435,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,001.85. This trade represents a 29.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Virtus Advisers LLC lifted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 3,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 59,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,771,000 after buying an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. increased its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 99.5% during the third quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 13,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 4.5% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 30,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,937,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter.

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Bright Horizons Family Solutions provides early education and child care, back-up care, and other services that help employers support employees’ family and education needs. Its offerings include center-based child care and preschool, care for children and adults when regular arrangements are unavailable, and education-related programs for employers.

Founded in 1986, the company works with employers and families through a network of early education and care centers and employer-sponsored programs.