Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on LNC. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.82.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $32.43 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.82. The firm has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.40. Lincoln National has a 52 week low of $27.58 and a 52 week high of $39.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total transaction of $1,429,929.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 154,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total value of $333,482.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its position in Lincoln National by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its position in Lincoln National by 4.7% in the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its position in Lincoln National by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 6,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.