Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Update

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,260,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the November 15th total of 1,190,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 376,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company's stock are sold short.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ BHF traded up $0.78 during trading on Monday, reaching $49.56. The stock had a trading volume of 158,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,988. Brighthouse Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.00 and a fifty-two week high of $54.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business's 50-day moving average price is $49.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.19. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.40 and a beta of 1.06.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.50 by ($0.51). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on BHF shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.13.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $196,360.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 86,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,971,502.48. This represents a 4.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $434,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,727,141.90. This represents a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BHF. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.