Wells Fargo Sees Short-Term Negative on MetLife (MET) as 'Joe Cool' Hit by Federal Reserve; Mgmt Actions Expected

Wells Fargo maintains an 'Outperform' on MetLife (NYSE: MET) price target range $45-49.

Wells analyst said, "Per the Federal Reserve, MetLife fell short of several measures and will be restricted in its ability to manage capital. This result was anticipated by neither the market nor the company, in our view. We expect MET shares to trade with a negative bias following the CCAR release...We imagine MetLife’s executives must feel as if they are trapped in an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” MetLife is a life insurer. Whatever bank operations the company had, they have been minor in scale and scope in our view relative to the
overwhelming size of its life insurance operations."

"We believe the company is working overtime to exit the banking business. As soon as practical, we expect MetLife to apply to the Federal Reserve to convert from being a bank holding company. At that point, MET will no longer be a "bank" and presumably no longer subject to CCAR, which could enable the company to manage its capital once again. We suspect (and hope) that this will not come as a surprise to the Federal Reserve."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on MetLife click here. For more ratings news on MetLife click here.

Shares of MetLife closed at $39.46 yesterday.

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