JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target to $56.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $59.00 to $56.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.38.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF stock opened at $48.24 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.72 and a 200-day moving average of $46.84. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $54.73. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 1.08.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $434,280.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $196,360.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,971,502.48. This represents a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. 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.