Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Raised to $44.00

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price objective upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Lincoln National from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Lincoln National from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lincoln National from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.00.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $34.39 on Wednesday. Lincoln National has a 12 month low of $31.61 and a 12 month high of $46.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 3.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.17%.The business had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total value of $261,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 198,159 shares in the company, valued at $6,487,725.66. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln acquired 2,254,486 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,784,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,508,130.98. This represents a 29.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 21,050 shares of company stock worth $734,041 over the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at $241,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 30.9% in the first 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 lifted its position in Lincoln National by 316.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,123,000 after buying an additional 44,936 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 5.0% during the first 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 buying an additional 29,421 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Lincoln National by 39.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 5,486 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.