Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday. The company traded as low as $45.64 and last traded at $45.8610, with a volume of 96,347 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.25.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 1.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.70, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.86 by ($0.41). Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 12.49%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the second quarter worth about $341,422,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 1.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,555,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,926,000 after purchasing an additional 60,791 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $54,895,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 64.5% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 642,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,491,000 after purchasing an additional 251,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kryger Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

About Brighthouse Financial

Brighthouse Financial, Inc (NASDAQ:BHF) is a U.S.-focused provider of annuities and life insurance products. The company serves individuals and institutions seeking solutions for retirement income, wealth preservation, protection and legacy planning.

Its annuity offerings include fixed, variable, income and registered index-linked annuities, including the Brighthouse Shield line of products. Brighthouse also provides life insurance products designed to offer death-benefit protection and, depending on the policy, cash-value accumulation and other financial-planning features.

Brighthouse Financial was established as an independent public company in 2017 after being separated from MetLife.