Groupe la Francaise Sells 27,788 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise reduced its Brighthouse Financial stake by 15.4% in the second quarter, selling 27,788 shares and retaining 153,089 shares valued at approximately $9.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.24% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: nine analysts rate BHF as a hold and one rates it a sell, resulting in a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $60.50.
• Brighthouse Financial reported quarterly earnings of $4.45 per share, below the $4.86 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.62 billion also missed forecasts and declined 2% year over year.

Groupe la Francaise cut its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 15.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,089 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,788 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise owned approximately 0.27% of Brighthouse Financial worth $9,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 27,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 66.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 566 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 32,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,090,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,735 shares of the company's stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brighthouse Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $60.50.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF stock opened at $53.58 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.24 and a 200-day moving average of $61.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.84. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.07 and a 52-week high of $66.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.86 by ($0.41). Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. Brighthouse Financial's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brighthouse Financial Profile

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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