Gabelli Funds LLC Buys 19,200 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 32.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,064 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $4,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,555,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,926,000 after purchasing an additional 60,791 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 98.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,413,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690,064 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $136,059,000. Glazer Capital LLC acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $113,252,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 190.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,396,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,113,000 after purchasing an additional 915,902 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BHF shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $60.50.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of BHF opened at $63.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.07 and a 52 week high of $66.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.39 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.57 and a 200-day moving average of $62.57.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.57 by ($0.22). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 16.88% and a negative net margin of 1.10%.The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 19.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Brighthouse Financial

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.