BrightView (NYSE:BV) Price Target Raised to $16.00 at Morgan Stanley

BrightView (NYSE:BV) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of BrightView from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $13.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. William Blair raised BrightView from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on BrightView from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BTIG Research started coverage on BrightView in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on BrightView from $11.30 to $12.90 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.11.

BrightView Stock Performance

NYSE:BV opened at $16.81 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.20. BrightView has a 1-year low of $7.75 and a 1-year high of $18.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 152.79 and a beta of 1.30.

BrightView (NYSE:BV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.02. BrightView had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business had revenue of $728.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $723.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. BrightView’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that BrightView will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BrightView

In other BrightView news, EVP Jonathan Mark Gottsegen sold 29,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.06, for a total transaction of $476,307.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,611,685.24. The trade was a 22.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BrightView

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BV. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in BrightView by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of BrightView by 8.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 17,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of BrightView by 7.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of BrightView by 8.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in BrightView by 3.2% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 75,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.41% of the company’s stock.

About BrightView

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.