MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $96.00.

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MET opened at $77.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 6,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Company Profile

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.