Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Up 11.1% in December

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,400,000 shares, a growth of 11.1% from the November 30th total of 1,260,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 370,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BHF. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.75.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ BHF traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.04. 279,320 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 418,154. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $54.73.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.50 by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 35,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 5.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.