Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.50.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $103,068.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,587,184. This represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 535.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 95.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 67.1% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $31.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.22. Lincoln National has a one year low of $25.09 and a one year high of $36.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.42. Lincoln National had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 128.57%.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses in the United States. It operates in four segments: Life Insurance, Annuities, Group Protection, and Retirement Plan Services. The Life Insurance segment provides life insurance products, including term insurance, universal life insurance (UL), indexed universal life insurance, variable universal life insurance (VUL), linked-benefit UL and VUL products, and critical illness and long-term care riders.