Jefferies Financial Group Raises MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target to $95.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $89.00 to $95.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.18% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MET. Barclays initiated coverage on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.23.

MetLife Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $82.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $58.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $82.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $75.27 and its 200-day moving average is $72.98.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 3.5% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.3% during the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% 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.