Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $54.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $49.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on BHF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $51.00.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ BHF opened at $48.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.52 and a beta of 1.09. Brighthouse Financial has a 12-month low of $40.24 and a 12-month high of $56.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.82.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly 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 negative net margin of 38.05% and a positive return on equity of 23.49%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 16.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,876,101.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Brighthouse Financial news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,876,101.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Inserra purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $43.20 per share, with a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,061,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,200,000 after buying an additional 45,938 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,663,000 after buying an additional 119,345 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth $33,362,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 441,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,350,000 after buying an additional 8,471 shares during the period. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 1.9% during the first quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 340,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,559,000 after buying an additional 6,496 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.