Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Stock

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $48.00 to $60.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential downside of 4.50% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of 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 raised Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.63.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 7.7 %

NASDAQ BHF traded up $4.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $62.83. The company had a trading volume of 608,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,969. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.65 and a 200 day moving average of $47.43. Brighthouse Financial has a 1-year low of $40.00 and a 1-year high of $64.00.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted 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). Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $434,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,727,141.90. The trade was a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BHF. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 11.1% in the 2nd 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 period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 172,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,496,000 after purchasing an additional 18,082 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 206,116 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 20.0% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is 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.