Barclays lifts Brighthouse Financial stock to Overweight

Published 29/01/2025, 11:54
Barclays lifts Brighthouse Financial stock to Overweight

The analysts concluded that with a risk-to-reward ratio of nearly 1:3, the upgrade to Overweight is justified, and the new price target reflects a comprehensive analysis of Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF)’s valuation from multiple perspectives. With a market capitalization of $3.46 billion and comprehensive financial metrics available through InvestingPro’s detailed research reports, investors can access deeper insights into BHF’s valuation metrics and growth potential among 1,400+ US equities covered by Pro Research Reports. With a market capitalization of $3.46 billion and comprehensive financial metrics available through InvestingPro’s detailed research reports, investors can access deeper insights into BHF’s valuation metrics and growth potential among 1,400+ US equities covered by Pro Research Reports.

The analysts concluded that with a risk-to-reward ratio of nearly 1:3, the upgrade to Overweight is justified, and the new price target reflects a comprehensive analysis of Brighthouse Financial’s valuation from multiple perspectives. With a market capitalization of $3.46 billion and comprehensive financial metrics available through InvestingPro’s detailed research reports, investors can access deeper insights into BHF’s valuation metrics and growth potential among 1,400+ US equities covered by Pro Research Reports.

The new price target of $85.00 is based on a discounted cash flow analysis, which includes a 14% discount rate applied to Brighthouse’s projected cash flows and an additional $1.25 billion premium for the company’s distribution platform. Furthermore, the valuation is supported by an adjusted weighted average price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple, which has been increased from 2.6x to 4.2x based on the next twelve months plus one fiscal quarter (NTM+1) estimated operating earnings.

Barclays (LON:BARC)’ valuation methodology also incorporates a cross-reference of different financial metrics. The revised P/E multiples for various segments of Brighthouse’s business are 3.7x for Annuities, 5.5x for Life, and 3.7x for Corporate & Other, with no value assigned to the Run-Off segment. This represents an increase from the previous multiples of 2.1x for Annuities and 2.3x for Corporate & Other, while maintaining the same valuation for the Life segment.

The analysts concluded that with a risk-to-reward ratio of nearly 1:3, the upgrade to Overweight is justified, and the new price target reflects a comprehensive analysis of Brighthouse Financial’s valuation from multiple perspectives.

In other recent news, Brighthouse Financial is reportedly exploring a sale, working with advisors from Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) to evaluate potential offers. This development comes as the company’s strategic focus has been under scrutiny, particularly due to challenges in the annuities market. The company is in the early stages of considering bids for the entire company or raising minority equity.

In addition to this, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has upgraded Brighthouse Financial from Equalweight to Overweight, anticipating an earnings per share (EPS) upside resulting from late fee rule preparatory actions. The firm also increased the price target to $76.00, marking a 117% rise.

On the earnings front, Brighthouse Financial reported a decline in adjusted earnings for Q3 2024, but emphasized its strong capital position, ongoing stock repurchases, and sales growth in annuity and life insurance products. The company aims to restore its Risk-Based Capital (RBC) ratio to 400%-450%, with a reinsurance agreement expected to boost this ratio. Year-to-date annuity sales reached $7.8 billion, a 15% increase in Shield Annuity products, and life insurance sales grew by 19% to $87 million. These are the recent developments within the company.

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