MetLife (NYSE:MET) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

MetLife (NYSE:MET) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15, Briefing.com reports. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.10 on Wednesday, hitting $76.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,317,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,316,397. The company has a market capitalization of $54.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11. MetLife has a 52-week low of $57.91 and a 52-week high of $77.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.08.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership 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.