First Trust Advisors LP Sells 383,628 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 51.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 355,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 383,628 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $21,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 156.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 262,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,245,000 after buying an additional 160,272 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 835.2% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the first quarter valued at $226,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 6.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 209,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,128,000 after acquiring an additional 13,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 6,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $60.50.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $62.90 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.58 and a 200-day moving average of $62.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.07 and a twelve month high of $66.80.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.57 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 1.10% and a positive return on equity of 16.88%. The firm’s revenue was down 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 19.2 EPS for the current year.

Brighthouse Financial Company Profile

Brighthouse Financial, Inc is a U.S.-based life insurance company that specializes in retirement income solutions and annuity products. The firm was established in August 2017 as a spin-off from MetLife, Inc, and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since its separation, Brighthouse Financial has focused on providing products designed to help individuals and families manage retirement income needs, drawing on decades of experience in life insurance and annuity administration inherited from its parent company.

The company’s core product offerings include fixed indexed annuities, which allow policyholders to participate in market-linked gains while protecting against downside market risk, and single premium immediate annuities, which provide guaranteed lifetime income.