Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for BrightView (NYSE:BV) Stock Price

BrightView (NYSE:BV) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $12.00 to $13.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 1.88% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on BV. Zacks Research upgraded BrightView from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of BrightView in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of BrightView from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of BrightView from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BrightView in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BrightView currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.70.

BrightView Stock Performance

BrightView stock opened at $12.76 on Wednesday. BrightView has a 1-year low of $11.06 and a 1-year high of $17.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 319.00 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.18.

BrightView (NYSE:BV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $702.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.03 million. BrightView had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 8.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that BrightView will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jonathan Mark Gottsegen sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.62, for a total transaction of $441,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 142,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,804,129.96. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William L. Cornog purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.84 per share, for a total transaction of $128,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,200. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BrightView

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BrightView by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 188,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after buying an additional 18,857 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in BrightView during the first quarter worth about $4,500,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in BrightView by 68.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,357,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,609,000 after purchasing an additional 552,727 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of BrightView by 2.0% during the first quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,086,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,949,000 after purchasing an additional 21,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of BrightView during the first quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.41% of the company’s stock.

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.