Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Update

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,260,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the November 15th total of 1,190,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 376,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $434,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,727,141.90. This represents a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total transaction of $196,360.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,971,502.48. This trade represents a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 204.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 135,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 91,175 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 153,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,665,000 after purchasing an additional 17,329 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,439,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,311,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,404,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF opened at $48.78 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.19. Brighthouse Financial has a 1-year low of $40.00 and a 1-year high of $56.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.40 and a beta of 1.06.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.51). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.63.

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.