Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $92.00 to $94.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.76% from the company’s previous close.

MET has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given 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 an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Price Performance

MET traded up $0.75 on Wednesday, reaching $81.91. The company had a trading volume of 707,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,532,809. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.01.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.