Short Interest in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Decreases By 13.0%

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,140,000 shares, a decline 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. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ BHF traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.73. 591,148 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 388,440. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -2.63 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Brighthouse Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.24 and a fifty-two week high of $56.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.81.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 123.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 732 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted 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 period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.