Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) had its target price raised by Piper Sandler from $52.00 to $60.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on BHF. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.75.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 5.8 %

BHF stock traded up $3.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $62.14. 1,262,147 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 757,502. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.06 and a beta of 1.10. 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. The firm's 50 day moving average is $51.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.46.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BHF. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 327.0% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.