Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.8571.

BHF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Thursday, March 26th.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $62.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of -21.02 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $42.07 and a 1 year high of $66.33.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.57 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 1.10% and a positive return on equity of 16.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 442.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 390.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 66.5% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 540.4% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 225.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

About Brighthouse Financial

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.