Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $32.21 and traded as high as $32.22. Lincoln National shares last traded at $31.84, with a volume of 1,513,654 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.25.

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.22. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.77.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%. Lincoln National’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the company’s 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

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

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.