StockNews.com Downgrades MetLife (NYSE:MET) to Hold

MetLife (NYSE:MET) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday.

MET has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.25.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $84.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $57.91 and a fifty-two week high of $84.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.33. The company has a market cap of $59.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 12,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 3.5% in the 2nd 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 lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

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.