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

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.75.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upgraded Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $434,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,727,141.90. The trade was a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $610,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,982. This trade represents a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BHF. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 187.3% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,823,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188,685 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2,632.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 884,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,475,000 after purchasing an additional 851,808 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth $37,131,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 156.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 656,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,537,000 after purchasing an additional 400,924 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,682,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,807,000 after buying an additional 181,980 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF opened at $62.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.06 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $64.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.47.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.