Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.14.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,350,324.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total value of $468,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,268,698. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BHF. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,758,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,012,000 after buying an additional 46,528 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 4.2% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,354,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,616,000 after buying an additional 94,816 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,085,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,367,000 after buying an additional 11,646 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,061,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,200,000 after buying an additional 45,938 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 1.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,033,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,950,000 after buying an additional 12,176 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $51.19 on Thursday. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $39.24 and a one year high of $56.24. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.71.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by ($0.91). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 20.71% and a negative net margin of 27.01%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 16.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 offers 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.