Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF)

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 16,316 call options on the company. This is an increase of 164% compared to the typical volume of 6,186 call options.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 26.8%

Shares of BHF stock traded up $13.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $65.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,783,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,017,302. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Brighthouse Financial has a 1-year low of $42.07 and a 1-year high of $66.00.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.70 by ($1.27). The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 10.24%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.57 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial will post 20.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BHF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 66.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 225.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 1,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 42.0% during 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. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 12,371.4% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.30.

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.