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

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.29.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 390,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 390,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total transaction of $468,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,268,698. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 412.3% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 123.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 732 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ BHF opened at $43.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $39.62 and a 1 year high of $56.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -2.27 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.78.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.29. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 38.05% and a positive return on equity of 23.49%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 16.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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.