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

Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.6429.

LNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Craigt T. Beazer sold 30,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.45, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 103,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,579,561.70. This trade represents a 22.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LNC. Bain Capital Prairie LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $835,360,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $101,114,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Lincoln National by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,755,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,304,000 after buying an additional 1,522,179 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,681,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,922,000 after buying an additional 1,361,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the third quarter valued at about $29,831,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:LNC traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.77. 1,835,905 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,681,448. Lincoln National has a fifty-two week low of $32.18 and a fifty-two week high of $46.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.79. The firm has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 4.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.17.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Lincoln National had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.88%.

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.