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

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.75.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BHF. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total transaction of $196,360.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,971,502.48. This trade represents a 4.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,727,141.90. This trade represents a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the second quarter valued at $89,000. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF opened at $48.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $54.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.70.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.50 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 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.