Piper Sandler Cuts Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target to $52.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price target cut by Piper Sandler from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Three equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 1.5 %

BHF stock opened at $46.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of -2.29 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.26. Brighthouse Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.00 and a fifty-two week high of $54.73. 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 (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total transaction of $196,360.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,971,502.48. This represents a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of Brighthouse Financial 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,727,141.90. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 564 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $89,000. 81.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.