MetLife, Inc. (MET)

Cramer – Love’em, hate’em, laugh at’em - whatever he’s got a great gig going and I confess sometimes I watch, I know I know, say what you will. Well this Friday (1/4/08) he mentions Capital Growth Management fund (CGMFX) as one of the top performing mutual funds. The fund is headed by G. Kenneth Heebner who invest in 20 to 100 companies with a minimum 100M market cap, but if you look through his portfolio he has some 40 companies and most are large cap international stocks. Their results are very nice, just under 20% annualized return since 97’ and yes that includes the most recent recession where he did 54%, 48%, -18%, 67% in 2000 thru 2003 – not too shabby can I get a Borat, “very very nice.”

So I start rummaging through his latest picks (http://tinyurl.com/2seh7v) and then cross reference them to two other factors - 5 star CAPS picks and companies that I ‘feel’ comfortable with (‘feel’ I know real specific huh?)

Drum roll please….

I came up with FMC Technologies, inc and Metlife, inc.

FMC Technologies provides technology solutions primarily in the Energy Systems, but also for its FoodTech, and Airport Systems segments. The argument here is that after years of higher oil prices and with no end in sight oil drillers are ready to make serious capital investments. FMC’s most recent deal was with a division of Total (TOT) for 980M and it’s their largest deal to date solidifying their market leading position. In 08’ look for their FoodTech and Airport systems, which grew at 40% last year, to be spun off as an independent publicly traded company.

Metlife provides offers life insurance, annuities, automobile and homeowners insurance, retail banking and other financial services, group insurance, reinsurance, retirement and savings products, and other insurance and financial related products and services to corporations, institutions, and individuals. MetLife’s future looks promising as it expands its existing business in emerging markets primarily within the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Combining the state side’s baby boomer’s demand for these types of services with the population of emerging markets discovering these products and services for the first time the company is well positioned for growth and withstanding a recession if that were to happen in the US.

in 2008 the company is expected to by back 2B or 5% of existing shares – a nice token of shareholder friendliness.

Both of these ideas are definitely worth further investigation any body else agree disagree? Post it.