MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $98.00 to $105.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.38% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MET. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.23.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $92.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. MetLife has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $92.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.63. The company has a market cap of $59.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MET. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,524,000 after acquiring an additional 117,545 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in MetLife by 93.5% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 33,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,777,000 after purchasing an additional 16,288 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in MetLife by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,742,000 after purchasing an additional 46,469 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth $8,091,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in MetLife by 195.8% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 33,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 22,016 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.