Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.25.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BHF. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $51.00 to $40.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF opened at $43.71 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.82. Brighthouse Financial has a 12-month low of $40.00 and a 12-month high of $56.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 1.06.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 22.03% and a positive return on equity of 26.22%. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.13 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 96,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,428,052. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 96,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,428,052. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total value of $1,141,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 321,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,663,358.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,125 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,248. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 441,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,350,000 after acquiring an additional 8,471 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 61,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,248,000 after purchasing an additional 8,434 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 72.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $798,000 after purchasing an additional 6,355 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,362,000. 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.