Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Receives Outperform Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued their outperform rating on shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $43.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LNC. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.38.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.4%

Lincoln National stock opened at $35.79 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.37. Lincoln National has a twelve month low of $27.58 and a twelve month high of $46.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.74, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 33.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln acquired 2,254,486 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total value of $261,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 198,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,487,725.66. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 21,050 shares of company stock worth $734,041 over the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LNC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 6.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,717,000 after buying an additional 1,183,934 shares during the period. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Lincoln National by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,233,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,574,000 after acquiring an additional 502,600 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,199,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,504,000 after acquiring an additional 40,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,952,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,051,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,505 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.