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What's in Store for Metlife (MET) this Earnings Season?
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MetLife, Inc. (MET - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 results on Feb 1, after market close.
Last quarter, MetLife beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12.28%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Q4 Flashback
We expect investments in business growth to affect earnings adversely in Latin America segment.
In its auto insurance business, the company has been taking targeted rate increases over the last 12 months. It has also increased premium rates on renewals. These increases, along with other management actions, should increase an improving auto combined ratio in the to-be-reported quarters.
We, however, expect property and casualty sales to decline by mid single digits due to pricing actions as well as a shift toward more profitable business segments and markets.
The company’s bottom line will be aided by its expense management initiatives. MetLife is targeting $1 billion in pre-tax run rate expense savings by the end of 2019.
In its Japan business, we expect sales to decline as the company shifts its sales to higher return foreign currency-denominated life products, away from low-return yen life products.
In its EMEA segment, we expect to see an increase in sales led by a favorable shift toward higher-margin products.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively show that MeLife is likely to beat on earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank of #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: MetLife has an Earnings ESP of -1.48%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate stands at a $1.33 per share, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.35. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: MetLife carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) which decreases the predictive power. We caution against Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.
Here are some companies that you may consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:
Molina Healthcare Inc. (MOH - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +5.33% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings results on Feb 13.
CVS Health Corporation (CVS - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.60% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter and 2016 earnings results on Feb 9,
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017?
Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >>
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What's in Store for Metlife (MET) this Earnings Season?
MetLife, Inc. (MET - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 results on Feb 1, after market close.
Last quarter, MetLife beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12.28%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Q4 Flashback
We expect investments in business growth to affect earnings adversely in Latin America segment.
In its auto insurance business, the company has been taking targeted rate increases over the last 12 months. It has also increased premium rates on renewals. These increases, along with other management actions, should increase an improving auto combined ratio in the to-be-reported quarters.
We, however, expect property and casualty sales to decline by mid single digits due to pricing actions as well as a shift toward more profitable business segments and markets.
The company’s bottom line will be aided by its expense management initiatives. MetLife is targeting $1 billion in pre-tax run rate expense savings by the end of 2019.
In its Japan business, we expect sales to decline as the company shifts its sales to higher return foreign currency-denominated life products, away from low-return yen life products.
In its EMEA segment, we expect to see an increase in sales led by a favorable shift toward higher-margin products.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively show that MeLife is likely to beat on earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank of #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: MetLife has an Earnings ESP of -1.48%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate stands at a $1.33 per share, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.35. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: MetLife carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) which decreases the predictive power. We caution against Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.
MetLife, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
MetLife, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | MetLife, Inc. Quote
Stocks That Warrant a Look
Here are some companies that you may consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:
Anthem Inc. will report fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 earnings results on Feb 1. The company has an Earnings ESP of +6.29% and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Molina Healthcare Inc. (MOH - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +5.33% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings results on Feb 13.
CVS Health Corporation (CVS - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.60% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter and 2016 earnings results on Feb 9,
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017?
Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >>