Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 18,000 Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 18,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $953,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BHF. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 85.0% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 2,084 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 949 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 14,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 3,358 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 2,712 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on BHF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Friday, February 16th. 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 research note on Friday, February 23rd. 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 research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.14.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.73. 591,148 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,157. The firm 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 current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.24 and a 52-week high of $56.24. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.78.

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

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.