Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Price

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $95.00 to $94.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price points to a potential upside of 20.99% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.58.

MetLife Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE MET traded down $0.68 on Wednesday, reaching $77.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,331,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,358,839. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. MetLife has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $52.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. The business's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 0.9% during the first quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its holdings in MetLife by 0.4% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 38,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,078,000 after acquiring an additional 141 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.