First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Takes Position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BHF. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,663,000 after buying an additional 119,345 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,819,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 80.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 315,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 140,796 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,043,000 after purchasing an additional 40,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $1,165,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BHF shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 390,765 shares in the company, valued at $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total value of $468,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,268,698. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 390,765 shares in the company, valued at $18,350,324.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF opened at $45.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.47 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.83. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.24 and a 12-month high of $56.24.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.29. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 27.01% and a positive return on equity of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 17.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.