Stock Update (NYSE:MET): MetLife Agricultural Loans Reach $3.2 Billion in 2015

[Business Wire] – MetLife, Inc. announced today that it originated $3.2 billion in agricultural loans in 2015 through its Agricultural Investments Department. MetLife is one of the largest agricultural mortgage lenders in North America with a portfolio of $13.2 billion as of September 30, 2015, the largest in the company’s history. Read more on this. MetLife, Inc. (MET) , with a current market cap of $49.26B, started the session at $44.31. Shares have traded today between $43.83 and $44.47 per share with the price of the stock fluctuating between $40.77 to $58.23 over the last 52 weeks. MET shares are currently priced at 8.91x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively inexpensive compared to the industry ’s 13.03x forward p/e ratio. And for those looking to make a return holding the stock, the company pays shareholders $1.50 per share annually in dividends, yielding 3.36%. According to a consensus of 18 analysts, the earnings estimate of $1.36 per share would be $0.02 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.12 sequential decrease. The full-year EPS estimate is $5.01, which would be a $0.73 better than last year. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $17.61 Billion. If realized, that would be a 3.45% decrease over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Raymond James upgraded MET from Mkt Perform to Strong Buy (Jan 22, 2016). Previously, Macquarie upgraded MET from Neutral to Outperform. Given all the information above, we should disclose to readers that the average price target is $56.60, which is 27.74% above than it opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:MET) Similar Articles: Stock Update (NYSE:MET): MetLife’s Commercial Real Estate Lending Tops $14 Billion in 2015 Stock Update: MetLife Inc (NYSE:MET) – MetLife Named ‘2015 Best Life Insurance Company in Turkey’ Company Update: MetLife Inc (NYSE:MET) – MetLife Declares Third Quarter 2015 Preferred Stock Dividend