Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 16,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $994,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 27,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its position in Brighthouse Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 35,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,255,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 66.5% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 32,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 1.8% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 18,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $976,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $64.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.48 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.61. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.07 and a twelve month high of $66.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.57 by ($0.22). Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 1.10% and a positive return on equity of 16.88%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 19.73 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $60.86.

Brighthouse Financial Profile

Brighthouse Financial, Inc is a U.S.-based life insurance company that specializes in retirement income solutions and annuity products. The firm was established in August 2017 as a spin-off from MetLife, Inc, and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since its separation, Brighthouse Financial has focused on providing products designed to help individuals and families manage retirement income needs, drawing on decades of experience in life insurance and annuity administration inherited from its parent company.

The company’s core product offerings include fixed indexed annuities, which allow policyholders to participate in market-linked gains while protecting against downside market risk, and single premium immediate annuities, which provide guaranteed lifetime income.