Piper Sandler Trims Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Target Price to $50.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its target price decreased by analysts at Piper Sandler from $55.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s target price indicates a potential upside of 7.37% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.43.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of BHF stock opened at $46.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 1.14. Brighthouse Financial has a 12 month low of $39.24 and a 12 month high of $56.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.81.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.29. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 27.01% and a positive return on equity of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.86 earnings per share. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total value of $468,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,268,698. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value 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 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 made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $33,362,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.7% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,073,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,496,000 after acquiring an additional 475,327 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 1st quarter worth $6,938,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 80.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 315,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 140,796 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,663,000 after purchasing an additional 119,345 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.