Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Down 7.5% in August

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, a decrease of 7.5% from the August 15th total of 1,200,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 423,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 96,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,428,052. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total value of $297,397.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571,093.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 96,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,428,052. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,125 shares of company stock worth $1,895,248 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $33,362,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 75.9% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 623,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,027,000 after buying an additional 269,062 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 21.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,273,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,210,000 after purchasing an additional 228,814 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Brighthouse Financial by 278.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 280,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,147,000 after purchasing an additional 206,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 3,362.1% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 158,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,854,000 after purchasing an additional 153,581 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, hitting $43.41. The stock had a trading volume of 59,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,765. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.27 and a 200 day moving average of $45.91. Brighthouse Financial has a twelve month low of $40.00 and a twelve month high of $56.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.27 and a beta of 1.06.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $5.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.36 by $1.21. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 22.03% and a positive return on equity of 26.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.44.

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.