Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Raymond James

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) was upgraded by investment analysts at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 26.43% from the stock’s previous close.

BHF has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $41.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.89.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $56.95 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.46. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Brighthouse Financial has a 52 week low of $40.00 and a 52 week high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 26.94%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,982. The trade was a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 46,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 72,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.