Entropy Technologies LP Buys New Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 56,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,012,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 2,051.1% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 923 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Craigt T. Beazer sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 103,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,579,561.70. This represents a 22.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Trading Down 0.1%

LNC opened at $41.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $32.18 and a fifty-two week high of $46.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 4.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.42 and its 200 day moving average is $37.45.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.93 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.17%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 20.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. Barclays upgraded Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. National Bank Financial set a $51.00 target price on Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.21.

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.