Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.80.

BHF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ BHF opened at $58.86 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $57.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.90. Brighthouse Financial has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $64.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.92.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.72 by ($0.55). Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 25.60% and a net margin of 8.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total value of $178,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,097,423.91. The trade was a 13.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.4% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 46,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 11.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Company 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.