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

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the eight analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.38.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BHF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $51.49 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Brighthouse Financial has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $54.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 1.08.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.51). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $434,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,727,141.90. This represents a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.