MetLife (NYSE:MET) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Evercore ISI

MetLife (NYSE:MET) was downgraded by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $97.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target suggests a potential upside of 19.48% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MET. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 target price on MetLife and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.83.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $81.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.03. The firm has a market cap of $53.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $88.09.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 5.30%.The firm had revenue of $12.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 198.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 790.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter worth about $35,000. 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.