MetLife Incs operating profit, excluding a $3.2 billion derivative loss, came below market expectations during the quarter ended on December 31st, dragged down by lower earnings in its retail unit in the United States and earnings in Latin America.
MetLife shares closed lower for a fifth consecutive trading session on Wednesday. The stock edged down 0.17% ($0.09) to $54.32, with the daily high and the daily low being at $55.30 and $54.01 respectively. In the week ended on January 29th the shares of the insurance company added 2.36% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the fourth consecutive period of gains and also the best performance since the week ended on December 11th. The stock went up 0.96% in January, while marking its sixth gain in the past seven months. For the entire 2016, MetLife shares rose 11.78%.
The insurers operating earnings per share were reported to have increased to $1.28 during the quarter ended on December 31st from $1.23 during the same period of 2015. The median forecast by analysts had pointed to earnings of $1.34 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Income grew to $1.42 billion during the quarter ended on December 31st from $1.38 billion during Q4 2015.
At the same time, the companys total revenue rose to $17.20 billion in Q4 2016 from $17.11 billion during the same period a year ago. The market consensus had pointed to $17.34 billion in total operating revenue.
However, MetLifes operating earnings in its Brighthouse Financial unit were reported to have shrunk 15% during the quarter, while its earnings in Latin America slumped 22%.
On the other hand, taking into account the $3.2 billion loss in derivative instruments, the insurance company registered a net loss of $2.13 billion ($1.94 per share) during the final three months of 2016.
“While rising interest rates are good for MetLifes businesses, they reduced the carrying value of our derivatives book and produced a quarterly net loss on a GAAP basis”, Steven Kandarian, the companys Chief Executive Officer, explained in a statement, cited by Reuters.
Insurance companies take positions in derivative instruments (futures, options, swaps, forward rate agreements) in order to hedge against risks related to volatile currency exchange rates, equity markets and changes in interest rates.
Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels
With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the MetLife stock are presented as follows:
R1 – $54.44
R2 – $54.56
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $54.67
R4 (Long Breakout) – $55.03
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $55.44
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $55.62
S1 – $54.20
S2 – $54.08
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $53.97
S4 (Short Breakout) – $53.61
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $53.20
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $53.02
By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for MetLife Inc (MET) are presented as follows:
Central Pivot Point – $55.28
R1 – $56.69
R2 – $57.78
R3 – $59.19
R4 – $60.61
S1 – $54.19
S2 – $52.78
S3 – $51.69
S4 – $50.61
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