Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Stock Price

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.57% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.34. 83,038 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 420,041. Brighthouse Financial has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $54.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.38 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.51). Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.18 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $434,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,727,141.90. The trade was a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $196,360.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 86,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,971,502.48. This trade represents a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BHF. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,091,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,160,000 after buying an additional 8,004 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 20.3% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 27,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,260,000 after acquiring an additional 4,726 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $782,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 320,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,441,000 after purchasing an additional 35,800 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.