Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 56.9%, owning 56,901 shares after divesting 75,001 shares in the first quarter.
• Brighthouse Financial's stock was impacted by multiple price target changes from analysts, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. raising their target from $56.00 to $63.00 while maintaining an "underweight" rating.
• The company reported earnings of $4.17 per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $2.16 billion compared to expected $2.29 billion.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 56.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,901 shares of the company's stock after selling 75,001 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Brighthouse Financial worth $3,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BHF. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 327.0% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth $94,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 11.0% in 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. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BHF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total value of $178,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale 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 company insiders.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 1.5%

BHF stock traded down $0.69 during trading on Thursday, hitting $46.79. 68,750 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 853,656. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 25.60%. Brighthouse Financial's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current year.

Brighthouse Financial 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.