Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF Stock Holdings Trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 280,889 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,821 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $14,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 68,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,433,000 after purchasing an additional 9,249 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter valued at $68,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 17.2% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter valued at $349,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 104.5% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 12,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Brighthouse Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Brighthouse Financial from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $58.33.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BHF opened at $45.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.24. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.01 and a 1-year high of $66.80. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 4.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.81.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.96 by ($1.28). The firm had revenue of $853.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 22.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.84 EPS for the current year.

Brighthouse Financial Company Profile

Brighthouse Financial is a U.S. life insurance and annuity company focused on helping individuals protect against financial risks and prepare for retirement. Its products include annuities designed to provide retirement income and life insurance policies that offer financial protection for families. The company distributes its products through independent agents and other financial professionals, including broker-dealers and banks. Brighthouse primarily serves customers in the United States. Brighthouse Financial became an independent, publicly traded company in 2017 after separating from MetLife.