Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Bright Horizons Family Solutions shares surged from a previous close of $113.10 to an opening of $127.37 following a strong earnings report, reporting $1.07 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.00.
• The company achieved a revenue of $731.57 million for the quarter, marking a 9.2% increase year-over-year compared to the same quarter last year.
• Recent analyst reports present a mixed outlook, with Morgan Stanley lowering its price target to $100.00 and other analysts showing varied ratings including a consensus target price of $138.00.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $113.10, but opened at $127.37. Bright Horizons Family Solutions shares last traded at $122.72, with a volume of 152,385 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.07. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $731.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $724.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFAM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $146.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.75.

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In related news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.49, for a total transaction of $321,225.00. Following the sale, the director owned 20,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,602,821.93. This represents a 10.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David H. Lissy sold 6,282 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.10, for a total transaction of $817,288.20. Following the sale, the director owned 69,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,017,491.20. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,282 shares of company stock worth $1,852,623. Company insiders own 1.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,958,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868,117 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 23.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,391,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $557,959,000 after purchasing an additional 845,391 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 171.0% in the second quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 858,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,041,000 after purchasing an additional 541,440 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 199.6% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,451,000 after purchasing an additional 447,457 shares during the period. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,653,000.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Down 5.2%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $120.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.12. The company has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company Profile

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.