MetLife (NYSE:MET) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup increased 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. Barclays initiated coverage on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an overweight rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $85.23.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $82.48 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $58.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $82.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $75.27 and its 200 day moving average is $72.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 114.7% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 602.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 72.6% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.