Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 1,537.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,133 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,270 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 27,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 35,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,255,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 66.5% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 32,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BHF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $60.50.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $63.22 on Monday. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.07 and a 12-month high of $66.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of -21.21 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $63.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.59.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.57 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 16.88% and a negative net margin of 1.10%.Brighthouse Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 19.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brighthouse Financial Company 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.