Brighthouse Financial Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:BHF)

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 10,094 call options on the company. This is an increase of 692% compared to the average volume of 1,275 call options.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

BHF stock opened at $53.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.10. Brighthouse Financial has a 12-month low of $44.51 and a 12-month high of $66.80. 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 company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 4.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BHF. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $60.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 2,106 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $1,914,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $170,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 82,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,205,000 after purchasing an additional 6,328 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brighthouse Financial Company Profile

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.