Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Lowered to $40.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.71.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC traded down $0.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $35.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,721,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,146,782. Lincoln National has a 52 week low of $31.61 and a 52 week high of $46.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 6.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The company had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. Lincoln National’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 33.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total transaction of $127,520.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,286.27. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln bought 2,254,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.09 per share, with a total value of $25,002,249.74. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,784,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,508,130.98. This trade represents a 29.94% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,050 shares of company stock valued at $734,041. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Lincoln National this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat and healthy revenue growth — Lincoln reported $1.66 EPS vs. consensus ~$1.58 and revenue grew ~13.1% year?over?year, showing operating momentum that supports valuation given a low reported P/E. MarketBeat Q1 results
• Positive Sentiment: Distribution tech partnership may improve sales efficiency — expanded API integration with broker platform Centro streamlines RFP and quoting, which can lower distribution friction and support sales over time. PR Newswire: Centro integration
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed underlying metrics — management highlighted operating gains but noted market risks and some one?time/market items that affected the bottom line; investors should dig into the call and slides for reserve/INV variability. TipRanks earnings summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials available — the conference call transcript and slide deck provide details on sources of operating gains vs. investment/one?time items; useful for assessing sustainability of earnings. Seeking Alpha transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade and lower price target — JPMorgan cut LNC to “underweight” and trimmed its price target (from $42 to $40), signaling shorter?term skepticism that can pressure the stock. Benzinga: JPMorgan downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability under pressure despite top?line growth — coverage and analysis note that revenue growth is outpacing profitability amid market headwinds, raising questions about margin durability and sensitivity to capital markets. MSN deep dive

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.