Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) Short Interest Update

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,190,000 shares, a growth of 12.3% from the November 30th total of 1,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 689,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Globe Life Stock Performance

GL stock traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $111.52. The company had a trading volume of 538,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,435,554. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.52. Globe Life has a one year low of $38.95 and a one year high of $132.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.43. Globe Life had a return on equity of 22.91% and a net margin of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Globe Life will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

Globe Life Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. Globe Life’s payout ratio is currently 8.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Globe Life in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Globe Life from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Globe Life from $160.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 14,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.80, for a total value of $1,560,192.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 16,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,783,884.80. This represents a 46.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Globe Life

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GL. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Globe Life by 70.8% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 1,543 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Globe Life in the second quarter worth $179,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Globe Life during the second quarter worth $860,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Globe Life by 35.3% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 47,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,907,000 after purchasing an additional 12,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Globe Life by 204.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 41,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after purchasing an additional 28,028 shares in 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.