JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for BrightView (NYSE:BV) Stock Price

BrightView (NYSE:BV) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $12.00 to $13.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 0.81% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BV. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on BrightView from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of BrightView from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of BrightView in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. CJS Securities upgraded shares of BrightView to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.42.

BrightView Stock Up 1.5%

BrightView stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $12.90. The company had a trading volume of 882,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,908. BrightView has a fifty-two week low of $11.06 and a fifty-two week high of $17.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -644.75 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.94 and its 200-day moving average is $13.48.

BrightView (NYSE:BV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.02). BrightView had a net margin of 1.90% and a return on equity of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $614.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that BrightView will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other BrightView news, Director William L. Cornog acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired 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 owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $385,200. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Mark Gottsegen sold 35,000 shares of BrightView stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.62, for a total value of $441,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 142,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,804,129.96. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BrightView

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BV. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BrightView in the third quarter valued at $61,076,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BrightView in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,565,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of BrightView by 106.1% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,079,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,339 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position in shares of BrightView by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,568,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BrightView by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,424,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,362,000 after acquiring an additional 833,469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.41% of the company’s stock.

About BrightView

BrightView Inc (NYSE:BV) is a leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States, offering a comprehensive suite of outdoor asset management solutions. The company’s core business activities include landscape maintenance, development and enhancement services tailored to a wide array of clients such as corporate campuses, healthcare facilities, multi-family residential properties, retail centers and municipalities.

BrightView’s service portfolio covers routine grounds maintenance, landscape construction and design-build, irrigation system installation and management, tree care, seasonal color programs and snow and ice management.