Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $85.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $52.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.63.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of BHF traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $61.26. 1,137,123 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 593,196. Brighthouse Financial has a 52 week low of $40.00 and a 52 week high of $64.00. 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 company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of -3.01 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's 50 day moving average is $49.89 and its 200-day moving average is $47.54.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,727,141.90. This represents a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $89,000. 81.24% of the stock is currently 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.