Brighthouse Financial, Inc. BHF has been trading above its 200-day simple moving average (SMA), signaling a short-term bullish trend. Its share price as of Tuesday was $62.36, down 5.9% from its 52-week high of $66.33.
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The 200-day SMA is a long-term technical indicator that averages a stock's closing price over the past 200 trading days to smooth out volatility and identify the broader trend direction. When the stock price crosses above the 200-day SMA, it can signal a buy or hold opportunity.
BHF's Price Performance
Shares of BHF have gained 7.3% in the past year against the industry’s growth of 11.7%. The Finance sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite have gained in the same time frame.
Attractive Valuation of BHF
Brighthouse Financial’s shares are trading at a discount compared with the industry. Its trailing 12-month price-to-book value of 0.64X is lower than the industry average of 2.04X, the Finance sector’s 4.31X, and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite’s 8.07X.
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Shares of other insurers like Sun Life Financial Inc. SLF and Primerica, Inc. PRI are trading above the industry average, while Manulife Financial Corp MFC is trading at a discount to the industry average.
Projections for BHF
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Brighthouse Financial’s 2026 earnings per share (EPS) and revenues indicates a year-over-year increase of 21.4% and 3.3%, respectively.
The consensus estimate for 2027 revenues and EPS indicates an increase of 1.4% and 7.6%, respectively, from the corresponding 2026 estimates.
Brighthouse Financial’s Return on Capital
BHF’s trailing 12-month return on equity is 16.8%, ahead of the industry average of 15.8%. Return on equity, a profitability measure, reflects how effectively a company is utilizing its shareholders' equity.
Factors Acting in Favor of BHF
Brighthouse Financial is one of the largest providers of life insurance products in the United States. Given the expansive and compelling suite of life products, the company should benefit from the growing individual insurance market. The insurer remains focused on ramping up sales of life insurance products and expanding its distribution network, aiming to become a premier industry player.
BHF remains focused on enhancing its product portfolio with the launch of Shield Level Pay Plus, which is an addition to the suite of Shield Annuities. Strong Shield Level Annuity sales and higher fixed indexed annuity sales from the company's recently launched SecureKey product boosted the Annuity sales. Fixed deferred annuities also contribute to growth. Improved underwriting margin and net investment income should contribute to higher Life insurance sales.
BHF expects to continue delivering strong results in both annuities and life insurance sales as it remains focused on providing a comprehensive and complementary suite of products. Execution of the life insurance strategy, including the addition of new distribution partners and wholesalers, is expected to drive growth.
Net investment income has been exhibiting an improving trend over the past few quarters. Driven by alternative investment income, asset growth and higher interest rates, the insurer expects the metric to improve in the future. Given a well-diversified and high-quality portfolio, as well as a conservative investment strategy, we expect the metric to improve in the future. BHF estimates a 9-11% annual yield over the long term on an alternative investment portfolio.
Brighthouse Financial continued to focus on maintaining the strength of the balance sheet. Given enhanced financial strength and flexibility, the company remains committed to returning capital to shareholders. As of March 31, 2026, BHF had $441 million remaining under its common stock repurchase program.
Risks for BHF
The company has been incurring higher expenses over the past several years, attributable to an increase in policyholder benefits and claims and a deteriorating margin.
Brighthouse Financial’s high debt levels have added to the insurer’s woes. Debt increased fivefold in the last five years. The debt to capital was 35.9%, which deteriorated 430 basis points from the 2025-end level.
End Notes
Higher annuity and life insurance sales, a high-quality portfolio and effective capital deployment, as well as growing individual insurance and investment income, position the life insurer well for growth. However, increasing expenses and high debt levels, leading to higher leverage, remain major concerns.
Higher return on capital, favorable growth estimates and attractive valuations should continue to benefit Brighthouse Financial over the long term.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Manulife Financial Corp (MFC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Primerica, Inc. (PRI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF): Free Stock Analysis Report
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).