Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Raised to Strong-Buy at Raymond James

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Raymond James from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $72.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James' target price would indicate a potential upside of 24.18% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised Brighthouse Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $52.00 target price on Brighthouse Financial in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.80.

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Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Brighthouse Financial stock remained flat at $57.98 during trading hours on Tuesday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 865,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,497. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $56.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.73. Brighthouse Financial has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $64.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 1.11.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 26.94% and a net margin of 8.21%. Analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,041,982. This represents a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,314,905 shares of the company's stock worth $104,240,000 after acquiring an additional 50,441 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 187.3% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,823,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188,685 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,682,076 shares of the company's stock worth $80,807,000 after purchasing an additional 181,980 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,091,462 shares of the company's stock worth $49,160,000 after purchasing an additional 8,004 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 2,632.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 884,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,475,000 after buying an additional 851,808 shares in 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.