Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Jefferies Financial Group

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) was downgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $64.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.71% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on BHF. Barclays upgraded Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.75.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF opened at $61.71 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $50.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $64.00.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.51). Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $434,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,727,141.90. The trade was a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 278.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 280,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,147,000 after purchasing an additional 206,116 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 102.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 160,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,223,000 after purchasing an additional 81,040 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,314,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,240,000 after purchasing an additional 50,441 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,748,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 12.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 320,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,441,000 after purchasing an additional 35,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Company Profile

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.