Piper Sandler Cuts Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target to $52.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price objective trimmed by Piper Sandler from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BHF. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.75.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $47.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 1.06. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $54.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.27.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $89,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

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.