Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $65.00 price target on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $63.70.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ BHF opened at $64.70 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.42. Brighthouse Financial has a 12-month low of $42.07 and a 12-month high of $66.33.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $4.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.09 by ($0.55). Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 20.59%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BHF. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $406,000. Kawa Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $8,066,000. Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 23.6% in the second quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,047,000 after purchasing an additional 7,268 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,225,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $801,000. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.