Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

LNC has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Lincoln National from an underperform rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $28.45.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $27.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.20. Lincoln National has a fifty-two week low of $18.50 and a fifty-two week high of $32.43.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Lincoln National had a negative net margin of 6.46% and a positive return on equity of 20.81%. Sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.46%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is -36.07%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, Director Owen Ryan acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $259,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 is available through the SEC website. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln National by 3,930.8% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.