Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 75,001 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

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. lessened its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 56.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,901 shares of the company's stock after selling 75,001 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Brighthouse Financial worth $3,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 187.3% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,823,162 shares of the company's stock worth $87,585,000 after buying an additional 1,188,685 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $37,131,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 156.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 656,464 shares of the company's stock worth $31,537,000 after buying an additional 400,924 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the first quarter worth about $11,761,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 198.6% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 209,523 shares of the company's stock worth $10,065,000 after acquiring an additional 139,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company's stock.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BHF traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.93. The stock had a trading volume of 24,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 855,623. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $64.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock's 50 day moving average is $53.89 and its 200 day moving average is $55.52.

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 analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 25.60%. The company's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.25 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total transaction of $178,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,097,423.91. The trade was a 13.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BHF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.30.

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.