Short Interest in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Decreases By 25.7%

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, a decrease of 25.7% from the January 15th total of 1,400,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 503,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company's stock are short sold.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:BHF traded up $3.40 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $62.14. 1,262,147 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 757,502. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.06 and a beta of 1.10. Brighthouse Financial has a 1-year low of $40.00 and a 1-year high of $64.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.09 and a 200 day moving average of $48.56.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. Research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.2 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BHF. Barclays raised Brighthouse Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $434,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,727,141.90. The trade was a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $610,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,041,982. This trade represents a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHF. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Brighthouse Financial by 20.0% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,578 shares of the company's stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Brighthouse Financial by 5.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,843 shares of the company's stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 24.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the third quarter worth $216,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.