Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Update

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,260,000 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the November 15th total of 1,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 376,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $48.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.19. Brighthouse Financial has a twelve month low of $40.00 and a twelve month high of $56.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.40 and a beta of 1.06.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $434,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,727,141.90. This trade represents a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total transaction of $196,360.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 86,262 shares in the company, valued at $3,971,502.48. The trade was a 4.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on BHF shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.63.

Brighthouse Financial Company Profile

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.