MetLife (NYSE:MET) Earns “Moderate Buy” Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

MetLife (NYSE:MET)‘s stock had its “moderate buy” rating restated by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $87.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price points to a potential upside of 28.64% from the company’s current price.

MET has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho set a $100.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.42.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $67.63 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. MetLife has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $83.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.76.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 790.0% in the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.