Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target Raised to $51.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $49.00 to $51.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 6.34% from the stock’s previous close.

BHF has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.14.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

BHF stock opened at $47.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of -2.59 and a beta of 1.16. Brighthouse Financial has a twelve month low of $39.24 and a twelve month high of $56.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.73.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 27.01% and a positive return on equity of 20.71%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,350,324.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total value of $468,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,080 shares in the company, valued at $1,268,698. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,350,324.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,663,000 after purchasing an additional 119,345 shares during the last quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,819,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 80.5% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 315,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after acquiring an additional 140,796 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 94.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,043,000 after acquiring an additional 40,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 4.5% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

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.