Groupe la Francaise Boosts Stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 35.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 180,877 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,419 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise owned approximately 0.31% of Brighthouse Financial worth $10,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 442.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 390.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 66.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 835.2% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BHF shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $60.50.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

BHF stock opened at $63.45 on Friday. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $42.07 and a one year high of $66.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of -21.29 and a beta of 0.86.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.57 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was down 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 19.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Brighthouse Financial

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.