MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

MetLife (NYSE:MET) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Argus increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.23.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $70.04 on Monday. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $56.13 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.18.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.83. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. MetLife’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MET. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 325.8% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 33,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 25,373 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 66.5% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 99,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,258,000 after buying an additional 39,719 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 171.6% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,751,000 after buying an additional 17,584 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 19.7% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 63,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,019,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Company Profile

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.