Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock Price

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price objective dropped by Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $53.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 24.59% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on LNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on Lincoln National from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Lincoln National from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.58.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE LNC opened at $42.54 on Thursday. Lincoln National has a fifty-two week low of $32.18 and a fifty-two week high of $47.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.51 and a 200-day moving average of $39.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.02% and a net margin of 16.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Craig Beazer sold 17,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.50, for a total transaction of $764,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,727,335. This represents a 17.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.24, for a total transaction of $704,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 103,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,156,631.04. This trade represents a 14.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 98,914 shares of company stock worth $4,024,989. 1.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Lincoln National by 24.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,755,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $275,304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,179 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted 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 purchasing an additional 215,007 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 141,994 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter worth about $63,112,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,592,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,306,000 after purchasing an additional 163,969 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, operating as Lincoln Financial Group, is a financial services and insurance company whose businesses focus on protecting income and helping individuals and employers plan for financial needs. Its offerings include life insurance, annuities, workplace benefits and retirement plan services. The company serves individuals, employers and retirement plan participants primarily in the United States. Its workplace protection products include benefits such as disability and life insurance, while its retirement services support employers and employees with workplace savings plans.