Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $953,000 Position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $953,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,663,000 after buying an additional 119,345 shares in the last quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the third quarter worth about $2,819,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 80.5% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 315,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,452,000 after buying an additional 140,796 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 94.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,043,000 after buying an additional 40,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 4.5% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total transaction of $468,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,268,698. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total transaction of $468,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,268,698. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $49.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.79. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of -2.64 and a beta of 1.16. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.24 and a 1-year high of $56.24.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 17.12 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.14.

Brighthouse Financial Profile

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.