Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) PT Raised to $49.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price objective increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Brighthouse Financial from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $49.38.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $43.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.09. Brighthouse Financial has a 52-week low of $40.24 and a 52-week high of $56.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.27.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.49% and a negative net margin of 38.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total value of $298,608.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,876,101.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total transaction of $298,608.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,765 shares in the company, valued at $1,876,101.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Inserra bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $43.20 per share, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $237,600. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 412.3% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 123.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.