Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, a decrease of 9.5% from the May 31st total of 1,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 456,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ BHF traded up $0.11 on Monday, hitting $43.45. 124,270 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 449,185. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.35. Brighthouse Financial has a 52-week low of $40.24 and a 52-week high of $56.24.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the 1st quarter worth $6,938,000. EMC Capital Management boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 216.0% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $294,000. Caxton Associates LP boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 64,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BHF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Brighthouse Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $48.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.38.

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.