Brokerages Set Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Target Price at $60.50

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and nine have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.50.

BHF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings cut Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $49.95 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.34. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Brighthouse Financial has a fifty-two week low of $44.51 and a fifty-two week high of $66.80.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.86 by ($0.41). Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.91 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 2,106 shares in the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,914,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $170,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 8.3% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 82,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,205,000 after acquiring an additional 6,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 59.4% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 865,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,895,000 after acquiring an additional 322,422 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brighthouse Financial

Brighthouse Financial, Inc is a U.S.-based insurance company focused on helping individuals achieve financial security through annuity and life insurance products. The company serves retail customers, as well as institutions and distribution partners, through a network that includes independent agents, banks, broker-dealers and other financial professionals.

Brighthouse Financial offers fixed, indexed and variable annuities designed to provide retirement income, tax-deferred growth and death-benefit features.