Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $42.92 and last traded at $42.49, with a volume of 1596435 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on LNC. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. National Bankshares set a $41.00 price target on Lincoln National in a report on Monday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Lincoln National to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.70.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.41, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.04.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total transaction of $196,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at $4,864,691.35. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 383.2% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the second quarter worth $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the second quarter worth $29,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln National

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.