Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $60.86.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $62.36 on Monday. 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 market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.93 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.73. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $42.07 and a 1 year high of $66.33.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.57 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 16.88% and a negative net margin of 1.10%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 19.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BHF. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 442.5% during 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 period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 225.5% during the 3rd 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 own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

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.