Evercore ISI Lowers Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target to $52.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price objective lowered by Evercore ISI from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock.

BHF has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Brighthouse Financial from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their price target for the company from $48.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $51.56.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $41.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.20 and a beta of 1.08. 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 has a 12 month low of $40.24 and a 12 month high of $56.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.09.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $5.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.49% and a negative net margin of 38.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 15.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total value of $298,608.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,876,101.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total value of $298,608.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,876,101.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 96,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,428,052. 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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHF. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth $33,362,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,273,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,210,000 after acquiring an additional 228,814 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 3,362.1% in the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 158,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,854,000 after acquiring an additional 153,581 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 1st quarter worth $6,938,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 657.3% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 136,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 118,441 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

About Brighthouse Financial

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.