Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on BHF. Argus upgraded Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $60.50.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF traded up $0.39 on Friday, reaching $66.00. 517,968 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 445,171. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.97 and a 200-day moving average of $62.62. Brighthouse Financial has a twelve month low of $42.07 and a twelve month high of $66.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.15 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 1.10% and a positive return on equity of 16.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 19.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 156.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 262,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,245,000 after purchasing an additional 160,272 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 835.2% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $226,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 209,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,128,000 after purchasing an additional 13,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 12.5% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 6,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. 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.