Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Upgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) was upgraded by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $55.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 15.06% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BHF. Wall Street Zen upgraded Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.25.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $47.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $52.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.10. Brighthouse Financial has a 52 week low of $44.51 and a 52 week high of $66.80. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 3.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.83.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.86 by ($0.41). Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 12.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.91 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 186,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,196,000 after purchasing an additional 48,174 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $341,422,000. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,914,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $20,887,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 38.8% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 61,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,679,000 after buying an additional 17,164 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brighthouse Financial Company Profile

Brighthouse Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: BHF) is a U.S.-based insurance holding company that provides annuities and life insurance products designed to help individuals and families address retirement income, financial protection and legacy-planning needs. The company primarily serves retail customers through independent distribution partners, including financial professionals and insurance agencies.

Brighthouse Financial’s offerings include fixed, variable and index-linked annuities, as well as life insurance products such as term life, universal life and variable universal life insurance.