Barclays Increases Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target to $76.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $75.00 to $76.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 29.38% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James upgraded Brighthouse Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.10.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of BHF opened at $58.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $64.12. The company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.96.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.79 by ($0.62). Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 26.94% and a net margin of 8.21%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 5.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 46,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

About Brighthouse Financial

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.