Jefferies Financial Group Increases MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target to $103.00

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has increased its price target for MetLife (NYSE:MET) from $100.00 to $103.00, suggesting a potential upside of 35.08% from the current price.
• Other analysts have mixed views, with Wells Fargo boosting its target to $97.00 and UBS reducing it to $91.00, while the average price target across multiple analysts stands at $96.00.
• MetLife’s recent earnings report showed an earnings per share of $2.02, missing the consensus estimate by $0.30, with revenues also down 2.7% year-over-year.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $100.00 to $103.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 35.08% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on MET. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed 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. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $98.00 target price (down from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.00.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $76.25 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.09 and a 200-day moving average of $78.99. The company has a market capitalization of $51.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. MetLife's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 repurchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MET. Eagle Strategies LLC grew its position in MetLife by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group grew its position in MetLife by 1.0% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,145,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 6,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 38,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,078,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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