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

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $87.00 to $98.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 24.46% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America decreased their target price on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $95.00 price target on MetLife in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.15.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.74. The company had a trading volume of 164,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,733,489. The stock has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.52. MetLife has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $83.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1,110.6% during the first quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 15,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 14,116 shares during the last quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $8,255,000. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $331,000. Andra AP fonden acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $2,221,000. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth about $45,033,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.