Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 195,519 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 275.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 266,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 195,519 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.47% of Brighthouse Financial worth $17,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth $242,000. Garrison Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth $224,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth $25,320,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF opened at $62.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $42.07 and a one year high of $66.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.12 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.02 and a 200 day moving average of $62.79.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.57 by ($0.22). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 16.88% and a negative net margin of 1.10%.The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 19.73 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BHF. Argus raised Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $60.86.

Brighthouse Financial Company Profile

Brighthouse Financial, Inc is a U.S.-based life insurance company that specializes in retirement income solutions and annuity products. The firm was established in August 2017 as a spin-off from MetLife, Inc, and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since its separation, Brighthouse Financial has focused on providing products designed to help individuals and families manage retirement income needs, drawing on decades of experience in life insurance and annuity administration inherited from its parent company.

The company’s core product offerings include fixed indexed annuities, which allow policyholders to participate in market-linked gains while protecting against downside market risk, and single premium immediate annuities, which provide guaranteed lifetime income.