MetLife (NYSE:MET) was upgraded by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Analyst Ratings Network reports. The brokerage currently has a $52.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $45.00. Piper Sandler’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.47% from the company’s current price.
Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MetLife from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 18th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 17th. Citigroup Inc. 3% Minimum Coupon Principal Protected Based Upon Russell upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $39.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 8th. TheStreet upgraded MetLife from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Smith Barney Citigroup upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $39.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.82.
Shares of NYSE MET opened at $46.65 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MetLife has a 12 month low of $22.85 and a 12 month high of $53.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.74 and a 200-day moving average of $40.53. The company has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.36.
Through Berkshire Hathaway…Warren Buffett recently dumped $800 million of Apple stock…
And bought this instead!
He’s now moved $3.8 BILLION in a tiny niche of the tech sector billionaires are flocking to…
MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.08. MetLife had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $16.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that MetLife will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.
MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MET. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 6.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 69,956,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,554,824,000 after purchasing an additional 4,312,214 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its position in MetLife by 60.8% in the third quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 2,284,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,896,000 after buying an additional 864,000 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 398.9% during the second quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 910,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,244,000 after buying an additional 727,834 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 3,324.8% during the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 601,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,361,000 after buying an additional 584,028 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in MetLife by 542.1% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 449,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,704,000 after buying an additional 379,400 shares during the period. 66.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About MetLife
MetLife, Inc engages in the insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management businesses worldwide. It operates through five segments: U.S.; 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, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and stable value products, including general and separate account guaranteed interest contracts, and private floating rate funding agreements.
Further Reading: What are the most popular ETFs
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]
7 Stocks That Could Provide a Year-End Rally
It’s rough in the markets right now. Underlying the volatility is uncertainty. The VIX Index (INDEXCBOE: VIX) otherwise known as the Fear Index is unofficial, but an eerily accurate predictor of market sentiment. And the VIX is up 30% in the last month.
Is this uncertainty due to concerns over additional lockdown measures? Is it about the lack of additional coronavirus stimulus? Is the market reacting to a surge in jobless claims? Or is this just the somewhat normal volatility that comes in an election year that promises to be like none in American history.
The answer is all of the above and then some. But does that mean you should stay out of equities? I don’t think so. Where are you going to go? The Fed has promised interest rates are going nowhere fast. And that bit of news is weighing down the bond market.
So stocks it is. But although growth-seeking investors may be tempted to look at the tech sector to see what’s on sale today, I suggest taking a more targeted approach. Rather than looking at a single sector, try to look at solid performers in different sectors that may be ready to surge over the last three months.
The pandemic brought the entire market down. But once investors took a breath they found bargains. And if you had the courage to put your money to work in those stocks, you’ve been rewarded.
Times like these call for the same type of courage. And that’s why we’ve put together this special presentation with seven stocks that look ready to surprise investors with nice end-of-year gains.
View the “7 Stocks That Could Provide a Year-End Rally”.
