MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• MetLife has a consensus “Buy” rating from 13 analysts: 11 buys, one hold and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $102.21, compared with a recent share price of $95.91.
• MetLife exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $2.43 versus the $2.30 consensus, while revenue increased 10.5% year over year. Analysts project full-year EPS of $9.72.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share, representing a 2.5% yield, and authorized a $3 billion share-repurchase program covering up to 4.8% of outstanding shares.

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $102.2143.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MET. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised MetLife from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MET. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in MetLife by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,742,000 after acquiring an additional 46,469 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $81,494,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 622,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,163,000 after purchasing an additional 13,657 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,905,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $134,770,000 after purchasing an additional 18,151 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,172,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $94,139,000 after purchasing an additional 49,640 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $95.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $61.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $100.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.45.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife's payout ratio is 45.40%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source