Insurance giant Metlife Inc. (MET) on Friday received some continued bullish commentary from analysts at Barclays Capital.

The firm reiterated its “Overweight” rating on MET as well as its $42 price target, which suggests an 18% upside to the stock’s Thursday closing price of $35.46.

A Barclays analyst commented, “MET did not receive FDIC approval to close on the sale of its bank unit to GE Capital (NYSE: GE) at the FDIC meeting yesterday, according to the Wall Street Journal (Sources). The delay could be due to regulators questioning GE Capital’s plans for the unit after the sale is complete. This means MET will likely need to wait until the next FDIC meeting in October to obtain approval at which point MET can resume share buybacks. We expect MET will eventually receive approval to close on the sale but it is taking longer than anticipated.”

MetLife shares rose 36 cents, or +1%, in premarket trading Friday.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Metlife (MET) have a 2.09% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $35.46. The stock has technical support in the $30-$32 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $38-$39 price levels.

Metlife Inc. (MET) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars.

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