Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LNC. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. National Bankshares set a $44.00 price target on Lincoln National in a report on Monday. Cfra Research raised Lincoln National to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln National has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.82.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC stock opened at $40.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.92. Lincoln National has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $43.66. The company has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.49.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 383.2% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Lincoln National in the third quarter worth about $39,000. 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.