Evercore ISI Trims Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Target Price to $56.00

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its target price trimmed by Evercore ISI from $59.00 to $56.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Brighthouse Financial from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $49.38.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $43.34 on Wednesday. Brighthouse Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.24 and a fifty-two week high of $56.24. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.40.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.29. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.49% and a negative net margin of 38.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.86 earnings per share. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total transaction of $298,608.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,765 shares in the company, valued at $1,876,101.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total value of $298,608.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,876,101.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Inserra bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $43.20 per share, with a total value of $108,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $237,600. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BHF. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth $33,362,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.7% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the first quarter valued at about $6,938,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 80.5% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% during the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

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.