MetLife (MET) Competitors

MetLife (NYSE:MET) and Aflac (NYSE:AFL) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, media sentiment, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Does the media prefer MET or AFL?

In the previous week, MetLife had 21 more articles in the media than Aflac. MarketBeat recorded 57 mentions for MetLife and 36 mentions for Aflac. Aflac's average media sentiment score of 0.93 beat MetLife's score of 0.50 indicating that Aflac is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
MetLife	21 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	24 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Aflac	17 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in MET or AFL?

95.0% of MetLife shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.4% of Aflac shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of MetLife shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Aflac shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is MET or AFL more profitable?

Aflac has a net margin of 15.32% compared to MetLife's net margin of 5.83%. MetLife's return on equity of 19.72% beat Aflac's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MetLife	5.83%	19.72%	0.82%
Aflac	15.32%	15.08%	3.21%

Do analysts prefer MET or AFL?

MetLife presently has a consensus price target of $95.40, indicating a potential upside of 25.11%. Aflac has a consensus price target of $107.92, indicating a potential upside of 4.30%. Given MetLife's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe MetLife is more favorable than Aflac.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MetLife	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.91
Aflac	2 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.08

Is MET or AFL a better dividend stock?

MetLife pays an annual dividend of $2.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Aflac pays an annual dividend of $2.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. MetLife pays out 38.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Aflac pays out 52.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. MetLife has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Aflac has increased its dividend for 44 consecutive years. MetLife is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has more volatility and risk, MET or AFL?

MetLife has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aflac has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings and valuation, MET or AFL?

Aflac has lower revenue, but higher earnings than MetLife. MetLife is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Aflac, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MetLife	$70.99B	0.72	$4.43B	$5.90	12.92
Aflac	$18.93B	2.96	$5.44B	$4.41	23.46

Summary

MetLife beats Aflac on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.