Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) Receives $135.60 Average PT from Brokerages

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $135.60.

Several brokerages have weighed in on GL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI raised Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Globe Life in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Activity at Globe Life

In related news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 13,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.56, for a total transaction of $1,513,706.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,132,786.88. This trade represents a 41.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 38,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,735,998.96. This represents a 38.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,338 shares of company stock valued at $7,239,630 over the last 90 days. 1.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Globe Life

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,117,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,661,000 after purchasing an additional 326,307 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,932,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,568,000 after purchasing an additional 223,282 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,545,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,480,000 after purchasing an additional 115,432 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,618,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,994,000 after purchasing an additional 89,299 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,592,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,615,000 after purchasing an additional 118,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Globe Life Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GL opened at $126.94 on Friday. Globe Life has a 1-year low of $38.95 and a 1-year high of $131.39. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $121.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.77.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 22.32% and a net margin of 18.53%. On average, research analysts expect that Globe Life will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.04%.

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.