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

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,310,000 shares, a decline of 6.4% from the December 15th total of 1,400,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 363,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock traded up $0.45 on Friday, reaching $50.56. The company had a trading volume of 257,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 266,216. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Brighthouse Financial has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $54.73. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of -2.49 and a beta of 1.08.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,727,141.90. This trade represents a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in 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 grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $89,000. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on BHF. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.38.

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.