Jefferies Financial Group Raises Globe Life (NYSE:GL) Price Target to $88.00

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $85.00 to $88.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 6.46% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Globe Life from $132.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Globe Life from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Globe Life from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Globe Life from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $130.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Globe Life in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Five 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Globe Life currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.67.

Globe Life Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GL traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $82.66. 263,200 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,090,017. Globe Life has a twelve month low of $38.95 and a twelve month high of $132.00. The firm has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.74.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Globe Life had a return on equity of 23.01% and a net margin of 18.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Globe Life will post 11.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Matthew Darden bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $84.82 per share, with a total value of $169,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 37,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,220,869.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO James Matthew Darden bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $84.82 per share, with a total value of $169,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 37,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,220,869.86. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Thomas Peter Kalmbach bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $84.43 per share, for a total transaction of $42,215.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,526,494.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $536,860. Company insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Globe Life

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Globe Life in the fourth quarter valued at about $123,682,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Globe Life by 10,526.9% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 998,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,061,000 after purchasing an additional 989,319 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Globe Life by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,255,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,755,000 after purchasing an additional 425,993 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Globe Life by 1,367.8% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 362,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,128,000 after purchasing an additional 337,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Globe Life by 169.4% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 484,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,032,000 after buying an additional 304,942 shares during the last quarter. 81.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.