Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $64.00 and last traded at $58.33, with a volume of 3111434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BHF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.38.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 14.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.87 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.65 and a 200 day moving average of $47.43.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $434,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,727,141.90. This trade represents a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BHF. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 278.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 280,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,147,000 after buying an additional 206,116 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 139.8% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 247,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,714,000 after acquiring an additional 144,102 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 102.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 160,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,223,000 after purchasing an additional 81,040 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of 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. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.