Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Up 5.9% in November

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) saw a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,260,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the November 15th total of 1,190,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 376,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $434,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,727,141.90. The trade was a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $196,360.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,971,502.48. This trade represents a 4.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BHF opened at $48.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $54.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.27. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.41 and a beta of 1.06.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.18 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BHF shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.13.

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.