Short Interest in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Decreases By 13.0%

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,140,000 shares, a decrease of 13.0% from the March 31st total of 1,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 432,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 390,765 shares in the company, valued at $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total transaction of $468,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,080 shares in the company, valued at $1,268,698. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,350,324.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 412.3% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 123.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 732 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Brighthouse Financial stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $48.99. 171,522 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 428,852. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $39.24 and a 1 year high of $56.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.81.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.83 by ($0.91). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 20.71% and a negative net margin of 27.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.51 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BHF. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.14.

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.