Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $138.45.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Globe Life in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Globe Life from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity at Globe Life

In related news, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.52, for a total value of $3,024,632.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,735,998.96. This represents a 38.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 11,000 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.31, for a total transaction of $1,345,410.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,529.88. The trade was a 36.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Globe Life by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Globe Life by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Globe Life by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in Globe Life by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Globe Life Stock Performance

Shares of GL opened at $122.67 on Thursday. Globe Life has a one year low of $38.95 and a one year high of $133.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $124.44 and a 200 day moving average of $115.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.05 and a quick ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.60.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.12 by $0.02. Globe Life had a net margin of 18.53% and a return on equity of 22.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Globe Life will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. This is an increase from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Globe Life’s payout ratio is 9.04%.

Globe Life Company Profile

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.