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

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $114.33.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Globe Life from $125.00 to $75.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Globe Life from $125.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Globe Life from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Globe Life from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Globe Life from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Globe Life

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Globe Life by 488.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 33,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,092,000 after purchasing an additional 27,908 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Globe Life by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Globe Life during the 4th quarter worth about $1,788,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Globe Life by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 261,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,840,000 after acquiring an additional 15,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Globe Life by 72.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. 81.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Globe Life Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE GL opened at $78.60 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a current ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.51 and a beta of 0.69. Globe Life has a 52-week low of $38.95 and a 52-week high of $132.00.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Globe Life had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 18.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Globe Life will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. This is a positive change from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.17%.

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.