Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $94.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price suggests a potential upside of 23.00% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MET. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.69.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $76.42 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $77.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.40. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional lifted its stake in MetLife by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in MetLife by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,559,000 after acquiring an additional 12,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $259,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.