Brokerages Set Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Target Price at $28.45

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.45.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LNC shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Lincoln National from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lincoln National from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In related news, Director Owen Ryan acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LNC. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 3,930.8% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC stock opened at $27.28 on Friday. Lincoln National has a 52-week low of $18.50 and a 52-week high of $32.43. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.81.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.13. Lincoln National had a positive return on equity of 20.81% and a negative net margin of 6.46%. The business had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -36.07%.

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.