Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Raised to $28.00

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 1.01% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LNC. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Lincoln National from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lincoln National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.45.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE LNC opened at $28.29 on Thursday. Lincoln National has a 52-week low of $18.50 and a 52-week high of $32.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.24 and a 200-day moving average of $26.14.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.13. Lincoln National had a negative net margin of 6.46% and a positive return on equity of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, Director Owen Ryan acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $259,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 4.2% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 7.1% during the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 4,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Security Financial Services INC. lifted its position in Lincoln National by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 8,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Vident Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in Lincoln National by 0.3% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 162,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,192,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

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.