Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Update

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, a decline of 25.7% from the January 15th total of 1,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 503,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $610,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,041,982. The trade was a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 327.0% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 24.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF opened at $58.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of -2.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Brighthouse Financial has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $64.00.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.75.

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.