EQH - Citi upgrades Brighthouse to Neutral as risk/reward come into balance

Citi analyst Suneet Kamath upgrades Brighthouse Financial (BHF) to Neutral from Sell, on a more balanced risk/reward profile given the analyst's revised price target of $46 vs. $35.Implies a 4.5% upside to the stock's $44.04 closing price on Tuesday.Kamath still recommends Buy-rated Equitable Holdings (EQH) over BHF, noting that EQH trades at a discount to BHF on price/free cash flow.For the insurance sector, the analyst is shifting to equal weighting for P&C and life vs. prior preference for P&C. Top picks remain Ameriprise Financial (AMP) for U.S. life coverage and Aon (AON) within P&C coverage, both of which are on Citi's Focus List.Kamath's Neutral rating matches the Quant rating and the average Sell-Side rating (1 Very Bullish, 7 Neutral, 2 Bearish, 2 Very Bearish).See BHF price/trailing twelve-month cash flow vs. EQH in chart below.SA contributor Ranjit Thomas recommends investors avoid the stock as management depletes capital by buying back stock.

For further details see:

Citi upgrades Brighthouse to Neutral as risk/reward come into balance