Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.75.

A number of analysts recently commented on BHF shares. Barclays upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut 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.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $48.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.65. 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 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $54.73.

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). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total transaction of $196,360.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,971,502.48. This trade represents a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 564 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

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.