Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Down 5.6% in October

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) saw a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 895,400 shares, a drop of 5.6% from the September 30th total of 948,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 384,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF opened at $47.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.36. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $56.24.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $5.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.36 by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 26.22% and a negative net margin of 22.03%. Brighthouse Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total transaction of $297,397.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571,093.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Brighthouse Financial news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total transaction of $297,397.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,571,093.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total value of $1,141,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 321,072 shares in the company, valued at $14,663,358.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,390 shares of company stock worth $1,861,608. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $110,000. 81.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays began coverage on Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.63.

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.