MetLife (MET) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

In the latest trading session, MetLife (MET) closed at $54.98, marking a +1.7% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 1.15% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.63%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 7.23%.

Heading into today, shares of the insurer had gained 4.34% over the past month, outpacing the Finance sector's gain of 2.77% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.08% in that time.

MetLife will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, MetLife is projected to report earnings of $1.99 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 0.5%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $17.11 billion, down 6.5% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.74 per share and revenue of $68.48 billion, which would represent changes of +12.99% and -9.36%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for MetLife. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.46% lower. MetLife currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that MetLife has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.99 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 8.62.

Also, we should mention that MET has a PEG ratio of 0.62. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. MET's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.14 as of yesterday's close.

The Insurance - Multi line industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 65, putting it in the top 26% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow MET in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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MetLife, Inc. (MET): Free Stock Analysis Report

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