Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Upgraded to Overweight at Barclays

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) was upgraded by equities researchers at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $85.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $52.00. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 45.72% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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 reduced their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.50.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ BHF opened at $58.33 on Wednesday. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $64.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.43.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released 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). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.18 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 11.1% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 97,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,257,000 after acquiring an additional 9,711 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 11.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 172,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,496,000 after buying an additional 18,082 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $12,147,000 after buying an additional 206,116 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the second quarter worth $89,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 20.0% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during 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.