Short Interest in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Grows By 7.2%

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,190,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the August 31st total of 1,110,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 412,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 96,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,428,052. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total value of $297,397.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,093.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 96,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,428,052. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,125 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,248 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $110,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $169,000. EMC Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 216.0% in the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.25.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $44.63 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 1.06. Brighthouse Financial has a 52 week low of $40.00 and a 52 week high of $56.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.61 and a 200 day moving average of $45.77.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $5.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.36 by $1.21. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 22.03% and a positive return on equity of 26.22%. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.16 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.