Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target to $50.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $50.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.46% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on BHF. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.29.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock traded down $0.89 on Friday, reaching $45.68. 572,295 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,937. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.46 and a beta of 1.14. Brighthouse Financial has a 52 week low of $39.37 and a 52 week high of $56.24. The firm's 50-day moving average is $48.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.29. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 20.71% and a negative net margin of 27.01%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.86 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 390,765 shares in the company, valued at $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total value of $468,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,268,698. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BHF. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company's stock worth $32,663,000 after buying an additional 119,345 shares in the last quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $2,819,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 80.5% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 315,763 shares of the company's stock worth $15,452,000 after buying an additional 140,796 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 94.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,620 shares of the company's stock worth $4,043,000 after buying an additional 40,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $1,165,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company's stock.

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.