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

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.80.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.80. 604,451 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 853,264. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $55.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. Brighthouse Financial has a 52 week low of $40.00 and a 52 week high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.72 by ($0.55). Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 26.94% and a net margin of 8.21%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BHF. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.4% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,303,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,860 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,598 shares of the company's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 46,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 11.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.