Strs Ohio Invests $1.27 Million in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 23,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,269,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,663,000 after purchasing an additional 119,345 shares during the last quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter worth about $2,819,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 80.5% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 315,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,452,000 after acquiring an additional 140,796 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 94.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,043,000 after acquiring an additional 40,194 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 4.5% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

BHF stock opened at $49.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.77. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $39.24 and a one year high of $56.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BHF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.14.

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.