Evercore ISI Has In Line Rating on MetLife (MET)

Core Viewpoint - MetLife Inc. is identified as one of the 13 Deep Value Stocks to buy currently, with a slight adjustment in target price by Evercore ISI analyst Thomas Gallagher from $97 to $95, maintaining an In Line rating on the stock [1]. Group 1: Earnings Performance - The company reported an 18% year-over-year growth in adjusted earnings and a 24% year-over-year growth in adjusted EPS for Q4 [1]. - Growth in earnings was primarily driven by the retirement and income solutions segment, which benefited from higher investment margins attributed to increased private equity returns [2]. - Smaller segments, particularly Latin America and EMEA operations, also contributed to growth through rapid volume growth and improved underwriting margins [2]. - The group benefits segment, being the largest, also showed solid growth, although not as rapid as other segments [2]. Group 2: Regional Performance - MetLife's Asia operations experienced a lag due to a contraction in underwriting margins, which offset gains from volume growth and expense margin improvements [3]. Group 3: Company Overview - MetLife Inc. provides insurance and financial services to individual and institutional clients across the United States, Latin America, EMEA, and Japan, and was founded in March 1868 [4].