Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 875,172 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 193% from the previous session’s volume of 298,403 shares.The stock last traded at $61.66 and had previously closed at $51.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.38.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 15.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.48 and its 200-day moving average is $47.36.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.50 by ($0.51). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $434,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,727,141.90. This represents a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

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.