Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Down 7.5% in August

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, a decrease of 7.5% from the August 15th total of 1,200,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 423,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:BHF traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.41. 59,988 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 435,765. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.27 and a beta of 1.06. Brighthouse Financial has a 52 week low of $40.00 and a 52 week high of $56.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $5.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $1.21. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 22.03% and a positive return on equity of 26.22%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.13 EPS. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 96,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,428,052. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 96,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,428,052. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total value of $297,397.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571,093.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,125 shares of company stock worth $1,895,248. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 139.8% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 247,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,714,000 after buying an additional 144,102 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $89,000. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Brighthouse Financial by 3.4% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 203,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,819,000 after acquiring an additional 6,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 204.6% in the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 135,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 91,175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BHF. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays began coverage on Brighthouse Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.44.

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.