Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Stock Price

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $42.00 to $41.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 17.26% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.38.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF opened at $49.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 1.08. 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 has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $54.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.97.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $434,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,727,141.90. This represents a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BHF. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 35,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.