Mizuho Begins Coverage on Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC)

Analysts at Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Mizuho’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.87% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on LNC. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded Lincoln National to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.67.

Lincoln National Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of LNC opened at $45.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Lincoln National has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $46.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 18.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 3,519 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,253,187.75. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Owen Ryan purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.17 per share, with a total value of $84,340.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $506,040. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Lincoln National by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,566,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,155,000 after buying an additional 146,667 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln National by 3.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 267,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,595,000 after buying an additional 10,018 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 7.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,084,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,753,000 after acquiring an additional 208,114 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 72.9% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 245,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,504,000 after acquiring an additional 103,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 271.2% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 180,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,467,000 after acquiring an additional 131,566 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

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.