Barclays Starts MetLife (MET) at Overweight

Barclays analyst Alex Scott initiates coverage on MetLife (NYSE: MET) with a Overweight rating and a price target of $91.00.

The analyst comments "We like MetLife because we see the company’s consistent earnings power continuing to compound at a better pace than expected. We see this being driven by Group Benefits business across the United States and Mexico as well as Asia, where MET has made more progress on positioning itself for growth in non-Japan Asia relative to peers. Additionally, the Institutional markets segment has been somewhat pressured by higher SOPHR-based funding costs and real estate has dragged on alternative returns, both of which could improve over the next 12 months. We also think MET’s multi-year disciplined focus on cash flow efficiency of its business is paying off in the form of a more consistent and repeatable earnings stream. We see these prospects for consistent earnings beats improving the valuation which sits at just 7.5x earnings now."

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 $77.76 yesterday.

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