MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Receives $96.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Key Points

• MetLife, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from eleven analysts, with ten analysts issuing buy recommendations and one rating the stock as hold.
• The average 12-month price target for MetLife shares among analysts is $96.00, indicating potential growth from current levels.
• MetLife has also announced a $3.00 billion share buyback program as a sign that its board believes the stock is undervalued, in addition to a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share.

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $95.60.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MET. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $756,104,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,019,427,000 after acquiring an additional 6,213,923 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter valued at approximately $336,965,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter valued at approximately $312,946,000. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $178,669,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.45. 1,194,662 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,405,958. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $77.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.