Brokerages Set Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) PT at $49.44

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.25.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 96,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,428,052. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 96,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,428,052. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total value of $1,141,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 321,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,663,358.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,125 shares of company stock worth $1,895,248 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 441,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,350,000 after purchasing an additional 8,471 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 61,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,248,000 after acquiring an additional 8,434 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 72.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 6,355 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,362,000. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $44.06 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.31 and a beta of 1.06. Brighthouse Financial has a twelve month low of $40.00 and a twelve month high of $56.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.87.

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