Yahoo Finance MetLife (MET) Could Be a Great Choice
Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.
While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.
MetLife in Focus
Headquartered in New York, MetLife (MET) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -18.38% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.5 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.39%. In comparison, the Insurance - Multi line industry's yield is 2.28%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.76%.
In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2 is up 1% from last year. MetLife has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 4.28%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. MetLife's current payout ratio is 29%, meaning it paid out 29% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for MET for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 is $8.32 per share, with earnings expected to increase 21.46% from the year ago period.
Bottom Line
Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.
Big, established firms that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options, but it's fairly uncommon to see high-growth businesses or tech start-ups offer their stockholders a dividend. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that MET is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
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MetLife, Inc. (MET) : Free Stock Analysis Report
