Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $66.42 and last traded at $66.41, with a volume of 131749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Argus upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $60.50.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of -22.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.57 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 16.88% and a negative net margin of 1.10%.The company’s revenue was down 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.17 EPS. Research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 19.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BHF. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 27,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,772,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 35,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,255,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 8.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 66.5% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 32,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

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.