First Trust Advisors LP Sells 383,628 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP cut its Brighthouse Financial stake by 51.9% in the first quarter, selling 383,628 shares and retaining 355,625 shares worth approximately $21.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.24% of BHF.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: eight analysts rate the stock “Hold” and two rate it “Sell,” resulting in a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $60.50 price target.
• Brighthouse Financial reported quarterly earnings of $4.35 per share, below the $4.57 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 29.4% year over year to $2.10 billion. Shares opened at $62.90, down 1.3%.

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 51.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 355,625 shares of the company's stock after selling 383,628 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.62% of Brighthouse Financial worth $21,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the first quarter valued at about $4,036,000. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the first quarter worth about $23,459,000. Credit Industriel ET Commercial bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $10,055,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,896,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,549,000. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BHF. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $60.50.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of BHF opened at $62.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of -21.11 and a beta of 0.86. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.07 and a 12 month high of $66.80. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $63.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.57 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 1.10% and a positive return on equity of 16.88%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.17 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 19.2 EPS for the current year.

About Brighthouse Financial

Brighthouse Financial, Inc is a U.S.-based life insurance company that specializes in retirement income solutions and annuity products. The firm was established in August 2017 as a spin-off from MetLife, Inc, and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since its separation, Brighthouse Financial has focused on providing products designed to help individuals and families manage retirement income needs, drawing on decades of experience in life insurance and annuity administration inherited from its parent company.

The company's core product offerings include fixed indexed annuities, which allow policyholders to participate in market-linked gains while protecting against downside market risk, and single premium immediate annuities, which provide guaranteed lifetime income.

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