Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.00.

Several research firms recently commented on BHF. Wells Fargo & Company cut Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total transaction of $298,608.75. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 96,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,428,052. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,250 shares of company stock valued at $826,006. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 412.3% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 9,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of BHF stock opened at $45.37 on Friday. Brighthouse Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.24 and a fifty-two week high of $56.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.38 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $5.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $1.21. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 38.05% and a positive return on equity of 23.49%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 15.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.