Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target Cut to $52.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.50% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BHF traded down $6.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $47.49. 602,488 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 526,452. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $64.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $57.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.91.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 26.94% and a net margin of 8.21%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $610,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,982. The trade was a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 187.3% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,823,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,585,000 after buying an additional 1,188,685 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Brighthouse Financial by 2,632.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 884,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,475,000 after acquiring an additional 851,808 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,131,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 156.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 656,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,537,000 after purchasing an additional 400,924 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,682,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,807,000 after purchasing an additional 181,980 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.