Vestcor Inc Takes $2.59 Million Position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,592,000. Vestcor Inc owned 0.07% of Brighthouse Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHF. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,413,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,177,000 after buying an additional 1,690,064 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 190.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,396,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,113,000 after buying an additional 915,902 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,465,000. Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $17,843,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 231.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 341,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,126,000 after acquiring an additional 238,478 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF stock opened at $62.65 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of -21.02 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.07 and a 52-week high of $66.33.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.57 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 1.10% and a positive return on equity of 16.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 19.79 EPS for the current year.

Brighthouse Financial 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.