Short Interest in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Increases By 7.2%

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,190,000 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the August 31st total of 1,110,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 412,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BHF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.25.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.22, for a total value of $226,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 91,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,126,867.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.22, for a total value of $226,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 91,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,126,867.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total transaction of $1,141,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 321,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,663,358.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,125 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,248. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $110,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $169,000. EMC Capital Management grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 216.0% in the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Privium Fund Management B.V. grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 5,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF opened at $43.95 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Brighthouse Financial has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $56.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.31 and a beta of 1.06.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $5.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $1.21. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 22.03% and a positive return on equity of 26.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.