Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Update

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the October 15th total of 895,400 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 374,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total transaction of $1,141,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.22, for a total transaction of $226,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 91,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,126,867.64. This represents a 5.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,265 shares of company stock worth $1,564,211 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BHF. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,314,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,240,000 after buying an additional 50,441 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 21.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,273,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,210,000 after buying an additional 228,814 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 75.9% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 623,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,027,000 after buying an additional 269,062 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 12.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 320,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,441,000 after buying an additional 35,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 278.0% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:BHF traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 560,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,901. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.53. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $56.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.18 EPS. Research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.