Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.25.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Lincoln National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 3,519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.15, for a total value of $155,363.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 118,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,253,187.75. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln acquired 2,254,486 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the purchase, the insider owned 9,784,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,508,130.98. The trade was a 29.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $627,484. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter worth about $241,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Lincoln National by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,585,000 after buying an additional 16,991 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 316.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 44,936 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 5.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 623,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,383,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Lincoln National by 39.1% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $701,000 after acquiring an additional 5,486 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $34.02 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.30. Lincoln National has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $46.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.30.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.35. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.90%.

Lincoln National Company Profile

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.