MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• MetLife, Inc. has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from eleven brokerages, with an average 1-year price target set at $95.60.
• The company reported earnings of $2.02 per share for the last quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $2.32.
• MetLife has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675, yielding approximately 2.9% annually and with a dividend payout ratio of 38.47%.

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.60.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th.

MetLife Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $79.32 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $78.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87. MetLife has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Norges Bank bought a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth about $756,104,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth about $336,965,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth about $312,946,000. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth about $178,669,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in MetLife by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,488,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,126,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,907 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About MetLife

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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