Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $135.60.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Globe Life in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on 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 other Globe Life news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,529.88. The trade was a 36.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.23, for a total value of $339,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,122 shares in the company, valued at $579,964.06. This represents a 36.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,338 shares of company stock worth $7,239,630 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Globe Life

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Globe Life in the 4th quarter valued at $112,454,000. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 155.6% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,138,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,629,000 after acquiring an additional 693,346 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Globe Life in the fourth quarter worth about $61,238,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Globe Life during the fourth quarter worth about $52,414,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Globe Life during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,178,000. 81.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Globe Life Price Performance

NYSE:GL opened at $128.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a current ratio of 0.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $122.24 and a 200-day moving average of $112.77. Globe Life has a 52 week low of $38.95 and a 52 week high of $131.39. The company has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 0.77.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Globe Life will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Globe Life’s dividend 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.