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

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.50.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th.

MetLife Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $76.29 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Motco grew its holdings in MetLife by 105.5% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.