Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Stock Price

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $42.00 to $41.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential downside of 14.19% from the stock's previous close.

BHF has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.38.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:BHF traded up $1.34 on Tuesday, hitting $47.78. 364,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 285,401. The company's 50-day moving average price is $49.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.94. Brighthouse Financial has a 52 week low of $40.00 and a 52 week high of $54.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Insider Activity

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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 75.9% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 623,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,027,000 after purchasing an additional 269,062 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 278.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 280,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,147,000 after acquiring an additional 206,116 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 139.8% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 247,210 shares of the company's stock worth $10,714,000 after acquiring an additional 144,102 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 608.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 157,164 shares of the company's stock worth $6,811,000 after acquiring an additional 134,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 204.6% during the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 135,730 shares of the company's stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 91,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company's stock.

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.