Globe Life (NYSE:GL) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $132.50 and last traded at $131.83, with a volume of 607245 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $129.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Globe Life in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Globe Life from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.45.

Globe Life Stock Up 0.9 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.54. 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 market cap of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.77.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Globe Life Inc. 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 given a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Globe Life

In other news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.31, for a total value of $1,345,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,529.88. This represents a 36.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.23, for a total value of $339,690.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,964.06. The trade was a 36.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,338 shares of company stock valued at $7,239,630. Company insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Globe Life

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Globe Life in the fourth quarter valued at $112,454,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Globe Life in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,238,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Globe Life during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,414,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Globe Life during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,178,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Globe Life by 1,702.5% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 484,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,053,000 after acquiring an additional 457,802 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

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.