May 25, 2023
Top 10 Stock MetLife Hold Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: MetLife – Top 10 Stock in Employee Satisfaction Leaders in the United States
MetLife is listed as a top 10 stock on May 25, 2023 in the market index Employee Focus US because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. While half the consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average, investor sentiment is negative and growth performance is below market average, both a sign for caution. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 39 (39% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for MetLife on May 25, 2023.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Life & Health Insurance |
| Index | Employee Focus US, SDG 10, SDG 13, SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 8, D.J. US Insurance, S&P 500 |
| Size class | XX-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° Assessment MetLife Hold
| 360 METRICS | May 25, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 96 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 5 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 96 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 44 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 39 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 39 (better than 39% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock MetLife are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half the metrics below and half above average for MetLife. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 96, which means that the share price of MetLife is on the lower side compared with typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is lower than for 96% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The company is also safely financed with a Safety rank of 96. But the professional market sentiment is below average compared with other stock investment alternatives with a Sentiment Rank of 44. Professional investors are more confident in 56% other stocks. The consolidated Growth Rank also has a low rank of 5, which means that the company is below average in terms of growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth, and stock returns. 95 of its competitors have better growth. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a 360° View of 39, MetLife is worse than 61% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. The picture is mixed here. The stock seems to be a good value (Value Rank of 96), and the financing structure is on the safer side (Safety Rank of 96). However, sentiment in the professional investor community is below-average (Sentiment Rank of 44), as is the growth momentum for the company (Growth Rank of 5). While everybody wants to buy at low stock prices (good value), professionals’ skepticism may mean that the low price is justified. Even though the financing structure is not as important as Value, Growth, and Sentiment, investors should still be careful with this decision and conduct further research if they are serious about investing in this company. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for MetLife only reserved
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 44 (better than 44% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock MetLife is below industry average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for MetLife. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 81 (better than 81% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. Market Pulse is also positive with a rank of 53, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are positive when discussing this company (more positive news than for 53% of competitors). But Analyst Opinions Change is negative with a rank of 17, which means that stock research experts are changing their opinions for the worse in recommending the company. In other words, they are getting more critical of investments in MetLife. There are also only so many institutional investors holding company stock with a Professional Investors rank of 36, which means that, currently, professional investors hold less stock in this company than in 64% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to invest in other companies. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 44 (less encouraging than 56% compared with investment alternatives), MetLife has a reputation among professional investors that is below that of its competitors. The signals are ambivalent. The positive news in the market contradicts the negative change in analyst recommendations. Since the overall analyst recommendations are still above average, the stock may be safer for investing, especially if it is not an extra-large company where Pros tend to be less present. In such a case, the Pro Investor rank is not a problem. ...read more
Value Strategy: MetLife Stock Price Value at the top
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives) for 2022, MetLife shares are significantly less expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators that are all above average for MetLife. Price-to-Sales has a value of 76 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 76% of comparable companies, indicating a good value for MetLife's revenue size. The same is valid for expected Price-to-Profits, more favorable than for 88% of alternatives, and this is also true for the Price-to-Book capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 67. Compared with other companies in the same industry, dividend yields of MetLife are expected to be higher than for 84% of all competitors (a Dividend Yield rank of 84). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 96, is a strong buy recommendation based on MetLife's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since all value metrics are above the industry average, there is no objection to investing in MetLife based on its detailed value metrics.
Growth Strategy: MetLife Growth Momentum negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 5 (better than 5% compared with alternatives), MetLife shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four metrics below average for MetLife. Sales Growth has a rank of 42, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 58% of its competitors. The same is valid for Profit Growth, with a rank of 38, and Capital Growth with 17. In addition, Stock Returns have a below market rank of 13, which means that the stock returns have recently been below 87% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 5, is a SELL recommendation for growth and momentum investors. These are all bad growth momentum indicators. These are negative signals for investors interested in growth companies. Value is likely good for this company, as investors may have left this stock in the cold. If that is the case, investors should look at the company's prospects, especially Sentiment performance, because it may be a turnaround situation that could entail above-average returns in the future. But it remains a risky bet, as no growth signals are in the green zone yet. ...read more
Safety Strategy: MetLife Debt Financing Safety very solid
| SAFETY METRICS | May 25, 2023 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 29 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 48 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 23 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 96 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives) for 2022, the company MetLife has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of MetLife is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with all three metrics below average for MetLife. Liquidity is at 23, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 77% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side when it comes to debt service. Even worse, Leverage is at a rank of 29, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 71% of its competitors. Finally, Refinancing is at a rank of 48 which means that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 52% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives), MetLife has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. This combination is rather dangerous in most situations. Only very promising companies with bright future outlooks and stellar reputations can operate with such risky financing. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: MetLife Top Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | May 25, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 96 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 5 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 23 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 93 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 93 (better than 93% compared with investment alternatives), MetLife (Life & Health Insurance, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of MetLife are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Obermatt Value Rank of 96 (better than 96% of alternatives), are safely financed (Safety Rank of 96, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 5). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: An Obermatt Combined Rank of 93, is a strong buy recommendation based on MetLife's financial characteristics. As the company MetLife's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 96) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 5) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 96), it may be a safer investment because companies with low debt can better withstand times of crises. Yet the good value, better than 96% of comparable companies, may also indicate that the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity and the downside is limited due to below-average financing risks. ...read more
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