Short Interest in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Rises By 19.5%

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, an increase of 19.5% from the October 15th total of 895,400 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 374,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 91,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,126,867.64. This trade represents a 5.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,265 shares of company stock worth $1,564,211. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% during the 3rd 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. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ BHF traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 560,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,901. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $56.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 1.05.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business earned $4.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.44 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BHF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.63.

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.