Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Cut to $42.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $44.00 to $42.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.23.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $35.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.72, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.99. Lincoln National has a 1 year low of $28.23 and a 1 year high of $46.82.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.46, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 206,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,104,239.14. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln purchased 2,254,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the purchase, the insider owned 9,784,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,508,130.98. This trade represents a 29.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 21,050 shares of company stock valued at $734,041 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,934 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 145.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,683,000 after acquiring an additional 68,827 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 203,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,180,000 after acquiring an additional 47,419 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 285,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,498,000 after buying an additional 143,862 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Lincoln National by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,952,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,051,000 after buying an additional 1,035,505 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln National

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.