Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 948,400 shares, a decrease of 20.3% from the September 15th total of 1,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 394,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays assumed 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 on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.63.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 91,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,126,867.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the 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 owns 321,072 shares in the company, valued at $14,663,358.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 91,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,126,867.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,125 shares of company stock worth $1,665,248. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 1st quarter worth $110,000. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $46.58. 242,523 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 427,864. Brighthouse Financial has a 52 week low of $40.00 and a 52 week high of $56.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $43.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.48.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $5.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.36 by $1.21. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 26.22% and a negative net margin of 22.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.52 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.