Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.80.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 8.6%

BHF traded down $5.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $53.85. 3,325,137 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,231. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.92. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $64.12. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $57.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.72 by ($0.55). Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 25.60% and a net margin of 8.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of the company'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 transaction of $178,530.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,097,423.91. This represents a 13.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 188.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 622 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 327.0% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 42.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 764 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 835.2% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 823 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 101.7% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 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.