MetLife (NYSE:MET) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

MetLife (NYSE:MET) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MET. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.54.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,052,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,368,372. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $81.97.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% in the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 3.5% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.3% during the second quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. CNB Bank raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.3% during the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.7% during the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently 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.