Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Receives Average Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a cautious view: Brighthouse Financial has an average “Reduce” rating, with two sell ratings and eight hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $60.50.
• Quarterly results missed expectations: The company reported adjusted earnings of $4.45 per share versus the $4.86 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.62 billion fell short of the $2.18 billion forecast and declined 2% year over year.
• Shares remain below recent averages: BHF opened at $53.28, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $62.68 and $62.07, respectively. Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 81.24% of the stock.

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.50.

Several research firms recently weighed in on BHF. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brighthouse Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $53.28 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Brighthouse Financial has a 12 month low of $42.07 and a 12 month high of $66.80.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.86 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. Research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 19.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 27,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 8.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the company's stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 66.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 566 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 32,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,735 shares of the company's stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company's stock.

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.

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