MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wolfe Research

Key Points

• MetLife (NYSE:MET) has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Wolfe Research, indicating increased confidence in the company's future performance.
• Multiple analysts have recently adjusted their target prices for MetLife, with a consensus target price of $95.55, while the average rating for the stock is currently "Buy".
• Despite a miss in quarterly earnings reporting $2.02 per share, analysts still anticipate MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year, showing optimism about its overall outlook.

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

MET has been the topic of a number of other research reports. 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 note on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.64.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,848,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,039,976. MetLife has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $52.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.MetLife's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MET. Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,096,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its position in MetLife by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 6,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co grew its stake in MetLife by 0.4% in the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

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.