Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from eight research firms, with an average 12-month target price of $60.67.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.43 for the last quarter, which missed analysts' expectations and represents a decline from the previous year's EPS of $5.57.
• Brighthouse Financial's stock has a current market capitalization of $2.56 billion and shows a 52-week low of $40.00 and a high of $64.12.

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.6667.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF opened at $44.52 on Friday. Brighthouse Financial has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $64.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.88.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($1.27). The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.57 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total value of $178,530.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,097,423.91. The trade was a 13.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BHF. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,545 shares of the company's stock worth $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 14,084 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth $1,694,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 114,984 shares of the company's stock worth $5,524,000 after purchasing an additional 33,716 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth $258,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,580 shares of the company's stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company's stock.

About Brighthouse Financial

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.

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