Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BFAM. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $98.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in a report on Friday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.50.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

The stock has a market cap 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.45.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Tocio sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $435,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,329 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,001.85. This trade represents a 29.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Mary Burke sold 1,200 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth about $452,317,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,334,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,611,000 after acquiring an additional 316,919 shares in the last quarter. Giverny Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 45.6% in the second quarter. Giverny Capital Inc. now owns 1,080,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,607,000 after buying an additional 338,464 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth about $74,789,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,093,000.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company Profile

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.