Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock Price

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $51.00 to $50.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 24.88% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln National from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Lincoln National from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.67.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Lincoln National stock traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.04. 482,798 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,041,367. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Lincoln National has a twelve month low of $32.18 and a twelve month high of $47.67. The company has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.19.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.36 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total value of $498,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 119,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,431,200.16. The trade was a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Kelly sold 15,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $397,685.50. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bain Capital Prairie LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,755,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,304,000 after buying an additional 1,522,179 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,106,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,858,000 after acquiring an additional 215,007 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,823,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,722,000 after acquiring an additional 141,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter valued at $63,112,000. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, operating under the Lincoln Financial Group brand, is a financial services company that provides insurance and retirement solutions primarily in the United States. Its businesses serve individuals, families, employers and institutions through a portfolio of life insurance, annuities and workplace benefit products.

The company’s offerings include term and permanent life insurance, variable and fixed annuities, and retirement plan services designed to support income and financial planning needs.