Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target Lowered to $45.00 at Piper Sandler

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its target price cut by Piper Sandler from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BHF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Brighthouse Financial from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $49.38.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

BHF opened at $43.34 on Friday. Brighthouse Financial has a 12 month low of $40.24 and a 12 month high of $56.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.43.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.29. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.49% and a negative net margin of 38.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.86 EPS. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Inserra bought 2,500 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $43.20 per share, with a total value of $108,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $237,600. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Brighthouse Financial news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total transaction of $298,608.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,876,101.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Inserra acquired 2,500 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.20 per share, with a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,500 shares in the company, valued at $237,600. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,073,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,496,000 after buying an additional 475,327 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,061,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,200,000 after acquiring an additional 45,938 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 723,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,438 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,663,000 after acquiring an additional 119,345 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,362,000. 81.24% of the stock is 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.