Groupe la Francaise Sells 27,788 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

Groupe la Francaise decreased its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 153,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,788 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $9,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the second quarter worth about $341,422,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 5,899.3% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,174,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,105,237 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $136,059,000. Glazer Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $113,252,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 98.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,413,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690,064 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

BHF stock opened at $53.58 on Monday. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.07 and a 1-year high of $66.80. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 4.28, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BHF shares. Zacks Research upgraded Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Brighthouse Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $60.50.

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.