Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $43.70 and last traded at $43.7850, with a volume of 276042 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised Lincoln National to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Lincoln National from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.40.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of 4.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.33.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 18.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 16.16%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 3,519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.15, for a total transaction of $155,363.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,985 shares in the company, valued at $5,253,187.75. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Owen Ryan bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $42.17 per share, for a total transaction of $84,340.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $506,040. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the 2nd quarter worth $87,362,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the second quarter worth about $43,686,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 6.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,934 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 25.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,730,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 21.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,952,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,051,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,505 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses in the United States. It operates in four segments: Life Insurance, Annuities, Group Protection, and Retirement Plan Services. The Life Insurance segment provides life insurance products, including term insurance, universal life insurance (UL), indexed universal life insurance, variable universal life insurance (VUL), linked-benefit UL and VUL products, and critical illness and long-term care riders.