Analysts Set Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Target Price at $60.86

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.8571.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus raised shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of BHF stock opened at $62.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.99 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Brighthouse Financial has a fifty-two week low of $42.07 and a fifty-two week high of $66.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.39.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. 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 for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 19.52 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 442.5% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 390.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 66.5% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 540.4% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 225.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.