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

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.63.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

BHF opened at $46.16 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.42 and a beta of 1.06. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $43.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.52. Brighthouse Financial has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $56.24.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $5.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.13 EPS. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total transaction of $1,141,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 321,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,663,358.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total transaction of $1,141,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 321,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,663,358.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,571,093.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,125 shares of company stock worth $1,665,248 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHF. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 5.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% in 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 last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 20.0% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.