Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Takes $309,000 Position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,663,000 after buying an additional 119,345 shares during the last quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter worth $2,819,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 80.5% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 315,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,452,000 after buying an additional 140,796 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 94.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,043,000 after buying an additional 40,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 4.5% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

BHF stock opened at $46.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.74. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.24 and a fifty-two week high of $56.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 17.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,350,324.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total transaction of $468,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,268,698. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,350,324.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Friday, February 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.14.

Brighthouse Financial 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.