Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Shares Down 9.1%

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) shares traded down 9.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $45.78 and last traded at $46.44. 253,571 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 447,302 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.43.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.81. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 1.14.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 27.01% and a positive return on equity of 20.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.86 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 17.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total transaction of $468,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,268,698. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,350,324.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total value of $468,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,268,698. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHF. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 80,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,155,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 35,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Capula Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capula Management Ltd now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.