Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Stock Price

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 11.24% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.30.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $47.32 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.88. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $56.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.38. Brighthouse Financial has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 25.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 18,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,097,423.91. This represents a 13.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 188.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 327.0% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 42.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 764 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 835.2% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 101.7% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.