MetLife (NYSE:MET) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

MetLife (NYSE:MET) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05), Zacks reports. MetLife had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 20.01%.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.92. 4,746,737 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,529,362. The company’s fifty day moving average is $83.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.68. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $65.65 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $58.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.46.

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.