Brighthouse Financial Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:BHF)

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 2,223 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 176% compared to the typical daily volume of 805 put options.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of BHF stock opened at $51.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.74. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $42.07 and a one year high of $66.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.86 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 442.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 390.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 66.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on BHF shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $60.50.

About Brighthouse Financial

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.