Piper Sandler Lowers Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target to $45.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.83% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Brighthouse Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $48.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.38.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF opened at $43.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Brighthouse Financial has a 52 week low of $40.24 and a 52 week high of $56.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.08.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Inserra purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $43.20 per share, with a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,663,000 after purchasing an additional 119,345 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 138.8% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 34,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after purchasing an additional 20,015 shares in the last quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,819,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 80.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 315,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 140,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,061,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,200,000 after purchasing an additional 45,938 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by 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.