MetLife (NYSE:MET) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.05 EPS

MetLife (NYSE:MET) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05), Zacks reports. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 5.27%.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MET traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.92. 4,746,737 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,529,362. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. MetLife has a 1-year low of $65.65 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $58.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.68.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.46.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.