Late Tuesday, insurance issue MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) reported that it will combine its U.S. operations into a single division. The company's institutional and individual business segments, as well as its home and auto units, will be merged into one under the aegis of William Mullaney, the current head of MET's institutional business. The metamorphosis is set to begin Aug. 1, although a full integration isn't expected to be complete until 2010.
"With this realignment, we are recognizing that we can better serve both employee benefit plan sponsors and individual customers through a single, integrated organization, while preserving our unique franchises," commented CEO and chairman C. Robert Henrikson. "A unified U.S. business organization creates a stronger growth platform and builds on our financial strength and our strong brand."
MET is up more than 1% in the wake of this news, but it's not yet clear whether the reorganization will be sufficient to revive the stock. Shares are down 16% this year, and the equity is still struggling against long-term resistance from its 10-month moving average. This trendline hasn't been toppled on a monthly closing basis since November 2007.
In recent weeks, an uptick in short-selling activity has helped to keep MET under pressure. Short interest on the shares rose by 38.1% during the past month, and increased by 11.3% during the most recent reporting period. If these bears continue to bet against MET, it could provide an additional headwind for the insurance issue.
Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-14-2009 @ 11:01AM
James W. Weeks said...
Rumor has it that you are moving your complete operation to India. Care to comment? I have been insured by MetLife since 1959 along with most of my family,it would be a big let down if you did!
J. W. Weeks
jweeks33@verizon.net