Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) Short Interest Up 12.3% in December

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in 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 volume of 689,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GL has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Globe Life in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Globe Life from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Globe Life from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Globe Life presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.10.

Insider Transactions at Globe Life

In other Globe Life news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 14,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.80, for a total transaction of $1,560,192.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,783,884.80. This trade represents a 46.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Globe Life

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Globe Life by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 105,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,154,000 after buying an additional 8,663 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Globe Life in the third quarter valued at $212,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Globe Life by 6.4% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 19,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Globe Life by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Globe Life during the 3rd quarter worth about $830,000. 81.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Globe Life Price Performance

GL stock traded up $1.57 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $111.52. 538,991 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,435,554. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $108.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.52. Globe Life has a 52-week low of $38.95 and a 52-week high of $132.00. The company has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Globe Life Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.12%.

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.