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

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.8571.

BHF has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Zacks Research raised 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 reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Thursday, March 26th.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF opened at $63.30 on Wednesday. Brighthouse Financial has a 52-week low of $42.07 and a 52-week high of $66.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.50 and a 200 day moving average of $62.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of -21.24 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.57 by ($0.22). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 16.88% and a negative net margin of 1.10%.The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 19.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 442.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 390.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 66.5% in the second 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 last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 540.4% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter worth $37,000. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.