Jefferies Financial Group Raises Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target to $49.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price target lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BHF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Brighthouse Financial from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their target price for the company from $48.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $49.38.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of BHF stock opened at $43.34 on Friday. Brighthouse Financial has a twelve month low of $40.24 and a twelve month high of $56.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.04 and a 200 day moving average of $48.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.29. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 38.05% and a positive return on equity of 23.49%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.37 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael J. Inserra purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $43.20 per share, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,500 shares in the company, valued at $237,600. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael J. Inserra purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $43.20 per share, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,600. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total transaction of $298,608.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,765 shares in the company, valued at $1,876,101.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.7% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,073,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,496,000 after purchasing an additional 475,327 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,061,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,200,000 after buying an additional 45,938 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 723,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,438 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,663,000 after acquiring an additional 119,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,362,000. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.