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

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $100.00 to $98.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 18.92% from the stock’s current price.

MET has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.17.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $82.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.54 and a 200-day moving average of $81.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife has a 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 244.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 131.9% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 374.3% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.