Short Interest in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) Drops By 21.9%

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,710,000 shares, a decrease of 21.9% from the December 31st total of 2,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 674,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Globe Life from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on Globe Life in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Globe Life from $160.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.18.

Globe Life Price Performance

GL traded up $0.88 during trading on Thursday, reaching $122.83. The stock had a trading volume of 33,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 514,338. Globe Life has a 1-year low of $38.95 and a 1-year high of $132.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Globe Life Dividend Announcement

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 paid 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 0.78%. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.12%.

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 that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.80, for a total transaction of $1,560,192.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 16,396 shares in the company, valued at $1,783,884.80. This trade represents a 46.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,964.06. The trade was a 36.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,788 shares of company stock valued at $4,429,779 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Globe Life

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 388.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Globe Life during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Globe Life during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Globe Life in the third quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Globe Life by 47.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 838 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 270 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.