Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $63.70.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 0.0%

Brighthouse Financial stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 119,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,067,118. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.94. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $42.07 and a 1 year high of $66.33. 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’s fifty day moving average is $53.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.75.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $4.54 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 business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.4% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 12,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 42.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 764 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Company Profile

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.