Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.63.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $52.38 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Brighthouse Financial has a 52 week low of $40.00 and a 52 week high of $56.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $48.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.51). Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.18 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $196,360.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,971,502.48. This trade represents a 4.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,314,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,240,000 after buying an additional 50,441 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 21.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,273,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,210,000 after acquiring an additional 228,814 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,091,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,160,000 after acquiring an additional 8,004 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 75.9% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 623,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,027,000 after acquiring an additional 269,062 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 12.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 320,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,441,000 after purchasing an additional 35,800 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brighthouse Financial

Brighthouse Financial, Inc provides annuity and life insurance products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Annuities, Life, and Run-off. The Annuities segment consists of variable, fixed, index-linked, and income annuities for contract holders’ needs for protected wealth accumulation on a tax-deferred basis, wealth transfer, and income security.