Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Globe Life (NYSE:GL)

Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 7,849 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 120% compared to the average volume of 3,570 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Globe Life by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in Globe Life by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 51,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,953,000 after purchasing an additional 4,643 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its position in Globe Life by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 23,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 29.4% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 456,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,151,000 after buying an additional 103,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Globe Life by 2.7% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Globe Life Price Performance

Shares of GL stock traded up $1.69 on Thursday, reaching $64.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,517,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,813,278. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.20. Globe Life has a 1 year low of $38.95 and a 1 year high of $132.00. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.15. Globe Life had a net margin of 17.82% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Globe Life will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This is an increase from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Globe Life’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GL shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Globe Life from $146.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Globe Life from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Globe Life from $125.00 to $75.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Globe Life in a report on Friday, April 12th. Five 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Globe Life presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.44.

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.