MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) to Post FY2023 Earnings of $7.69 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research boosted their FY2023 EPS estimates for shares of MetLife in a research note issued to investors on Monday, September 11th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $7.69 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $7.68. The consensus estimate for MetLife’s current full-year earnings is $7.78 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for MetLife’s Q4 2023 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $2.37 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $2.39 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $9.20 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.52 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $10.27 EPS.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.09. MetLife had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The company had revenue of $16.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on MET. Argus upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. TheStreet upgraded shares of MetLife from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.40.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $63.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $61.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.80. MetLife has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $77.36. The company has a market cap of $48.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 47.6% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. 88.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Marlene Debel sold 9,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $593,323.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,638 shares in the company, valued at $4,905,168.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 7th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.93%.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through five segments: U.S.; 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.