Traders Buy High Volume of Brighthouse Financial Put Options (NASDAQ:BHF)

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 5,948 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 440% compared to the average volume of 1,101 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BHF. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 8.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 32,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 2.6% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 11.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 149,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 708,476. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Brighthouse Financial has a one year low of $44.51 and a one year high of $66.80.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.86 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial will post 18.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BHF. Wall Street Zen upgraded Brighthouse Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $60.50.

Brighthouse Financial Company Profile

Brighthouse Financial, Inc is a U.S.-based insurance company focused on helping individuals achieve financial security through annuity and life insurance products. The company serves retail customers, as well as institutions and distribution partners, through a network that includes independent agents, banks, broker-dealers and other financial professionals.

Brighthouse Financial offers fixed, indexed and variable annuities designed to provide retirement income, tax-deferred growth and death-benefit features.