Head to Head Survey: MetLife (MET) & The Competition

MetLife (NYSE:MET) is one of 311 publicly-traded companies in the “Insurance” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare MetLife to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, valuation, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

MetLife has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MetLife’s competitors have a beta of -1.59, indicating that their average share price is 259% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

MetLife pays an annual dividend of $2.37 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. MetLife pays out 30.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Insurance” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.9% and pay out 31.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. MetLife has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for MetLife and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MetLife	0	1	14	0	2.93
MetLife Competitors	3340	15698	16545	743	2.40

MetLife presently has a consensus price target of $106.62, suggesting a potential upside of 4.10%. As a group, “Insurance” companies have a potential upside of 4.65%. Given MetLife’s competitors higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe MetLife has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Profitability

This table compares MetLife and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MetLife	6.21%	24.45%	0.91%
MetLife Competitors	9.08%	-9.84%	4.11%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.0% of MetLife shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.8% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of MetLife shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.5% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares MetLife and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
MetLife	$77.08 billion	$3.38 billion	13.35
MetLife Competitors	$15.26 billion	$1.70 billion	34.35

MetLife has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. MetLife is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

MetLife beats its competitors on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc. is a global financial services company best known for providing insurance, employee benefits and retirement-related products. Its offerings include life, dental and disability insurance, annuities, and products and services designed to help individuals and employers plan for financial protection and retirement. The company serves individuals, businesses and institutions in the United States and international markets, including countries in Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.