Globe Life Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:GL)

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 7,849 call options on the company. This is an increase of 120% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,570 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Globe Life from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Globe Life in a report on Friday, April 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Globe Life from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.44.

Institutional Trading of Globe Life

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Globe Life by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 93,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,448,000 after buying an additional 6,299 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Globe Life by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 14,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 26.8% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,354,000 after acquiring an additional 2,848 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 4,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Globe Life by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,557,000 after buying an additional 4,897 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Globe Life Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of GL opened at $64.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.83. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.05 and a quick ratio of 0.05. Globe Life has a 1-year low of $38.95 and a 1-year high of $132.00.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.15. Globe Life had a net margin of 17.82% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Globe Life will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. This is a boost from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Globe Life’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

About Globe Life

Globe Life Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various life and supplemental health insurance products, and annuities to lower middle- and middle-income families in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Life Insurance, Supplemental Health Insurance, Annuities, and Investments.