Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Short Interest Up 19.5% in October

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, an increase of 19.5% from the October 15th total of 895,400 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 374,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of BHF stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.97. 560,780 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,901. Brighthouse Financial has a 12-month low of $40.00 and a 12-month high of $56.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on BHF. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total transaction of $1,141,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 321,072 shares in the company, valued at $14,663,358.24. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.22, for a total transaction of $226,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 91,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,126,867.64. This trade represents a 5.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,265 shares of company stock worth $1,564,211. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brighthouse Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BHF. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,091,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,160,000 after acquiring an additional 8,004 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 20.3% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 27,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter valued at about $782,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 12.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 320,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,441,000 after buying an additional 35,800 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,314,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,240,000 after buying an additional 50,441 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is 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.