Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Shares Down 4.7% - Here's Why

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) traded down 4.7% on Friday . The company traded as low as $50.25 and last traded at $49.70. 82,697 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 619,345 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BHF. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. 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 report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.30.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 0.7%

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 stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.88. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $57.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.43.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total value of $178,530.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,097,423.91. This trade represents a 13.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHF. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 195,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,411,000 after purchasing an additional 14,316 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $384,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 74,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,597,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 114,984 shares of the company's stock worth $5,524,000 after acquiring an additional 33,716 shares during 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.