Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Stock

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $48.00 to $52.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BHF. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of 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 upped their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF opened at $45.97 on Monday. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $54.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.26 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.26.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $434,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,727,141.90. The trade was a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $196,360.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,971,502.48. This represents a 4.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BHF. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 75.9% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 623,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,027,000 after acquiring an additional 269,062 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 21.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,273,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,210,000 after acquiring an additional 228,814 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 278.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 280,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,147,000 after acquiring an additional 206,116 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 3,362.1% in the second quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 158,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,854,000 after purchasing an additional 153,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 139.8% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 247,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,714,000 after purchasing an additional 144,102 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.