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Brighthouse Financial (BHF) Q2 Earnings Top, Revenues Up Y/Y

Brighthouse Financial Inc.'s BHF second-quarter 2019 adjusted net income of $2.56 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 14.8%. Moreover, the bottom line surged 101.6% year over year.

The quarter witnessed strong annuity sales. The company also completed repositioning of its investment portfolio and pursued share buybacks.

Behind the Headlines

Operating revenues increased 3.3% year over year to $2.2 billion. Total revenues of $2.4 billion were up 39.2% year over year.

Premiums of $232 million increased 4% year over year.

Adjusted net investment income was $942 million in the quarter under review, up 16% year over year. This upside was driven by asset growth, higher alternative investment income and prepayments and repositioning of the investment portfolio.  Investment income yield was 4.67%.

Corporate expenses of $242 million pretax increased 7.6% sequentially.

Total expenses decreased 5.8% year over year to $1.9 billion on lower interest credited to policyholder account balances, drop in amortization of DAC and VOBA and lower other expenses.

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Brighthouse Financial, Inc. Quote

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Quarterly Segment Update

Annuities reported adjusted operating income of $265 million, up 19.9% year over year reflecting higher net investment income and lower expenses, partially offset by lower fees. Annuity sales increased 34% to $1.9 billion.

Life generated adjusted operating income of $58 million, up 56.8% year over year on lower expenses, partially offset by lower fees. Life insurance sales were $1 million, down 50% year over year.

Adjusted operating income of Run-off was $2 million against loss of $6 million in the year-ago quarter. The upside was driven by higher net investment income and lower expenses, partially offset by higher claims.

Adjusted operating loss at Corporate & Other was $71 million, narrower than loss of $99 million incurred in the year-ago quarter.  The lower loss reflects lower expenses and higher net investment income, partially offset by higher interest expense.

Financial Update

Cash and cash equivalents were nearly $4 billion, up 86.5% year over year.

Shareholders’ equity of about $16.3 billion at quarter-end increased 21.1% year over year.

Book value per share, excluding preferred stock and accumulated other comprehensive income, was $116.85 as of Jun 30, 2019, up 10.9% year over year.

Share Buyback Program

Brighthouse Financial bought back shares worth $136 million in the second quarter and worth another $43 million in July.

Zacks Rank

Brighthouse Financial currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).  You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Other Life Insurers

Second-quarter earnings of Lincoln National LNC and Torchmark TMK surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while that of Sun Life Financial SLF missed the same.

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Lincoln National Corporation (LNC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Torchmark Corporation (TMK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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