Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Down 13.0% in April

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,140,000 shares, a decrease of 13.0% from the March 31st total of 1,310,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 432,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BHF shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered Brighthouse Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Friday, February 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.14.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of BHF stock traded down $0.30 on Friday, hitting $48.73. 591,148 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 388,440. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Brighthouse Financial has a 12 month low of $39.24 and a 12 month high of $56.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.63 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.35 and a 200 day moving average of $49.81.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.83 by ($0.91). The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 20.71% and a negative net margin of 27.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 390,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 390,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total value of $468,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,080 shares in the company, valued at $1,268,698. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 3.6% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 207,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,711,000 after purchasing an additional 7,248 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 2.8% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $953,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.6% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 15,768 shares of the company's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 11.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 87,859 shares of the company's stock worth $4,528,000 after acquiring an additional 9,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 18.0% during the first quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 11,096 shares of the company's stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,693 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.