Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.86.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BHF shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Brighthouse Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Inserra bought 2,500 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.20 per share, with a total value of $108,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total value of $298,608.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,876,101.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Inserra bought 2,500 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $43.20 per share, with a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $237,600. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 412.3% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 123.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 732 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $41.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.19 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.95 and its 200 day moving average is $48.98. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $40.24 and a 1 year high of $56.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.29. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.49% and a negative net margin of 38.05%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.86 EPS. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 16.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.