Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Price Target to $50.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price target lowered by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $50.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.39% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on BHF. Morgan Stanley cut Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Friday, February 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.29.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

BHF traded down $0.44 on Friday, reaching $46.13. The stock had a trading volume of 161,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,301. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.57 and a 200-day moving average of $49.81. Brighthouse Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.37 and a fifty-two week high of $56.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.46 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 17.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 22.8% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 111.3% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 18,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after buying an additional 9,631 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $270,000. Hedge funds and other 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.