Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.3846.

LNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. National Bank Financial set a $45.00 price target on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total value of $127,520.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,286.27. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total value of $261,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 198,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,487,725.66. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 21,050 shares of company stock worth $734,041 over the last ninety days. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the first quarter worth $241,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Lincoln National by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 16,991 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 316.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 44,936 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 623,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,383,000 after purchasing an additional 29,421 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 5,486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE LNC opened at $34.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.13. The company has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 6.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lincoln National has a 12 month low of $27.58 and a 12 month high of $46.82.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.The company’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 33.90%.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.