Barclays Upgrades Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) to Overweight

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) was upgraded by stock analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $85.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $52.00. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 38.75% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.63.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF opened at $61.26 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $50.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.01 and a beta of 1.08. Brighthouse Financial has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $64.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released 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). The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,727,141.90. This represents a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 278.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 280,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,147,000 after acquiring an additional 206,116 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 102.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 160,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,223,000 after purchasing an additional 81,040 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 50,441 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 12.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 320,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,441,000 after purchasing an additional 35,800 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,280,000. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.