Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Update

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 889,300 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the January 31st total of 1,040,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 567,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ BHF traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $55.45. The company had a trading volume of 201,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 779,289. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.57 and a 200 day moving average of $49.85. Brighthouse Financial has a 1-year low of $40.00 and a 1-year high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 26.94%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BHF shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Brighthouse Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,041,982. This represents a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,314,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,240,000 after acquiring an additional 50,441 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $287,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,000. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $826,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,311,000. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.