MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Lowered to $98.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $100.00 to $98.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.73% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MET. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.17.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $83.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.64 and a 200 day moving average of $80.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife has a 12 month low of $67.04 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 131.9% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 374.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

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.