Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF)

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 16,373 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 910% compared to the average daily volume of 1,621 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total transaction of $178,530.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,097,423.91. This represents a 13.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brighthouse Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BHF. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 188.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 327.0% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 835.2% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of BHF stock opened at $52.91 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.47 and a 200-day moving average of $54.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 0.92. Brighthouse Financial has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by ($0.55). Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 25.60%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 EPS for the current 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.