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

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.14.

A number of research firms recently commented on BHF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total transaction of $468,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,268,698. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 412.3% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 123.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF opened at $48.91 on Monday. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $39.24 and a one year high of $56.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.29 and a 200-day moving average of $49.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.64 and a beta of 1.16.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by ($0.91). The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.12 earnings per share for the current 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.