MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $88.46.

MET has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET opened at $84.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.36. MetLife has a 1 year low of $57.91 and a 1 year high of $86.94. The company has a market cap of $59.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 12,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its stake in MetLife by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 8,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in MetLife by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 31,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in MetLife by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.