Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LNC. Barclays raised their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho began coverage on Lincoln National in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Lincoln National Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of LNC opened at $41.89 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.37. The company has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Lincoln National has a twelve month low of $27.58 and a twelve month high of $46.82.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.20. Lincoln National had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 16.16%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other news, Director Owen Ryan purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.17 per share, with a total value of $84,340.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $506,040. This represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 3,519 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.15, for a total value of $155,363.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,253,187.75. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 8,483 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Lincoln National by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,642,000 after buying an additional 3,112 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Lincoln National by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 224,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,991,000 after acquiring an additional 7,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

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.