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

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,140,000 shares, a drop of 13.0% from the March 31st total of 1,310,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 432,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares in the company, valued at $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $1,174,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 390,765 shares in the company, valued at $18,350,324.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total value of $468,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,268,698. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 412.3% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 123.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

BHF stock traded down $0.30 on Friday, reaching $48.73. The company had a trading volume of 591,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,440. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.35 and its 200 day moving average is $49.81. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.63 and a beta of 1.16. Brighthouse Financial has a 1 year low of $39.24 and a 1 year high of $56.24.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.83 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 27.01% and a positive return on equity of 20.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 17.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BHF. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.14.

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.