Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Down 25.7% in January

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, a drop of 25.7% from the January 15th total of 1,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 503,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $610,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,982. This trade represents a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 327.0% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 5.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF traded up $3.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,262,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,502. 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 1-year low of $40.00 and a 1-year high of $64.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.06 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.49.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. Research analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BHF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.75.

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.