Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Raymond James

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) was upgraded by equities researchers at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $72.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James’ price target indicates a potential upside of 23.97% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley set a $52.00 price target on Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Brighthouse Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $41.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.80.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF opened at $58.08 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 26.94%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,041,982. This represents a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BHF. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 187.3% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,823,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188,685 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2,632.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 884,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,475,000 after buying an additional 851,808 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $37,131,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 156.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 656,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,537,000 after acquiring an additional 400,924 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,682,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,807,000 after acquiring an additional 181,980 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.