Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Boosts Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target to $60.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $48.00 to $60.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential downside of 4.50% from the stock’s previous close.

BHF has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays raised Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.63.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BHF traded up $4.50 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.83. 608,237 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 467,969. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.08. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $64.00.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $434,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,727,141.90. This represents a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in 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 period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the second quarter worth $89,000. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.