First Trust Advisors LP Buys 172,641 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 686,721 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 172,641 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.20% of Brighthouse Financial worth $36,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BHF. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $919,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 360.5% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 151,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,062,000 after acquiring an additional 118,909 shares during the period. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 22,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,210,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,321,000 after acquiring an additional 208,630 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 518.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 34,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after acquiring an additional 29,217 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BHF shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $63.67.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF opened at $60.38 on Friday. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.07 and a 52-week high of $66.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 0.96.

About Brighthouse Financial

Brighthouse Financial, Inc is a U.S.-based life insurance company that specializes in retirement income solutions and annuity products. The firm was established in August 2017 as a spin-off from MetLife, Inc, and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since its separation, Brighthouse Financial has focused on providing products designed to help individuals and families manage retirement income needs, drawing on decades of experience in life insurance and annuity administration inherited from its parent company.

The company’s core product offerings include fixed indexed annuities, which allow policyholders to participate in market-linked gains while protecting against downside market risk, and single premium immediate annuities, which provide guaranteed lifetime income.