BrightView (NYSE:BV) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• BrightView Holdings, Inc. shares gapped down significantly to $15.25 after announcing weaker than expected quarterly earnings, reporting $0.30 EPS versus an anticipated $0.32 EPS.
• Revenue for the company fell 4.1% year-over-year to $708.30 million, missing analyst expectations of $763.43 million.
• After major shareholder Kkr Group Partnership L.P. sold 11,600,000 shares for $167 million, insider ownership decreased by 35.01%, now valuing their remaining stake at approximately $310 million.

Shares of BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BV - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $16.28, but opened at $15.25. BrightView shares last traded at $14.81, with a volume of 63,551 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $708.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.43 million. BrightView had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BV. Loop Capital decreased their target price on BrightView from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on BrightView from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut BrightView from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Kkr Group Partnership L.P. sold 11,600,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.40, for a total transaction of $167,040,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,533,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at $310,076,971.20. This trade represents a 35.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of BrightView

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BV. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in shares of BrightView by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 18,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares during the period. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new stake in BrightView in the 2nd quarter valued at about $355,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in BrightView by 3.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 22,841 shares of the company's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BrightView during the second quarter worth approximately $608,000. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its holdings in shares of BrightView by 14.9% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 14,418 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.41% of the company's stock.

BrightView Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average is $15.86 and its 200-day moving average is $14.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 510.17 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

BrightView Company Profile

BrightView Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial landscaping services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Maintenance Services and Development Services. The Maintenance Services segment delivers a suite of recurring commercial landscaping services, including mowing, gardening, mulching and snow removal, water management, irrigation maintenance, tree care, golf course maintenance, and specialty turf maintenance.