MetLife shares retreat for a third straight session on Wednesday, company’s Brighthouse Financial unit downgraded by Fitch

MetLife Incs Brighthouse Financial Inc unit, which offers life insurance and annuities to individuals, was reportedly downgraded by Fitch Ratings Inc to an A from an A+ on May 31st, as the unit revised down its capitalization and financial objectives compared to last year.

MetLife shares closed lower for a third consecutive trading session on Wednesday. The stock edged down 0.22% ($0.11) to $50.59, after touching an intraday low at $49.98, or a price level not seen since May 19th ($49.91). In the week ended on May 28th the shares of the insurance company added 1.13% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the first gain in the past three weeks, but yet, the smallest one since the week ended on April 30th. The stock retreated 2.35% in May, while marking its second consecutive monthly loss. For the entire past year, MetLife shares gained 11.78%.

“When we originally assigned the ratings in October, we anticipated more stability in some of these capitalization metrics because of the projections they provided”, Fitch analyst Bradley Ellis said, cited by Reuters.

According to the ratings agency, a major concern is the “funding of assets in support of the companys variable annuity business, consolidated financial leverage and the overall levels of statutory capital”.

At the same time, in regard to MetLife Incs plans to spin off its Brighthouse business, the ratings agency said some changes were required at the insurers unit that would point to more stability.

According to CNN Money, the 15 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding MetLife Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $59.00, with a high estimate of $67.00 and a low estimate of $51.00. The median estimate is a 16.62% surge compared to the closing price of $50.59 on May 31st.

The same media also reported that 11 out of 20 surveyed investment analysts had rated MetLife Inc’ stock as “Buy”, while 8 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the MetLife Incs stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $50.67
R2 – $50.74
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $50.82
R4 (Long Breakout) – $51.05
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $51.31
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $51.43

S1 – $50.51
S2 – $50.44
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $50.36
S4 (Short Breakout) – $50.13
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $49.87
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $49.75

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for MetLife Inc (MET) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $50.83
R1 – $51.65
R2 – $52.25
R3 – $53.07
R4 – $53.89

S1 – $50.23
S2 – $49.41
S3 – $48.81
S4 – $48.21