Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,190,000 shares, an increase of 12.3% from the November 30th total of 1,950,000 shares. Based on an average trading 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Globe Life

In related news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 14,340 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 16,396 shares in the company, valued at $1,783,884.80. This trade represents a 46.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Globe Life

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 period. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Globe Life during the third quarter worth $212,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Globe Life by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 19,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,087,000 after buying an additional 1,179 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Globe Life by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Globe Life during the third quarter worth approximately $830,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Globe Life from $160.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Globe Life from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Globe Life in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.10.

Globe Life Price Performance

NYSE:GL traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.52. 538,991 shares of the company's stock traded hands, 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 company has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $108.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.52. Globe Life has a 1 year low of $38.95 and a 1 year high of $132.00.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Globe Life had a return on equity of 22.91% and a net margin of 19.04%. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Globe Life will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

Globe Life Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. Globe Life's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.