Globe Life (NYSE:GL) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $131.41 and last traded at $130.65, with a volume of 57668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.60.

Globe Life Stock Up 0.4 %

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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.40. The firm has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 0.77.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.12 by $0.02. Globe Life had a net margin of 18.53% and a return on equity of 22.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 13,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.56, for a total transaction of $1,513,706.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,132,786.88. This trade represents a 41.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.23, for a total value of $339,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,964.06. This trade represents a 36.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,338 shares of company stock valued at $7,239,630. Insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Globe Life

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Globe Life by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Globe Life by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Globe Life by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 81.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Globe Life Company Profile

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.