Zacks Research Downgrades Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) to Hold

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

LNC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Lincoln National to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.40.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $42.70 on Thursday. Lincoln National has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $43.66. The company has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of 3.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.10. 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 (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.20. The company 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, Director Owen Ryan purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $42.17 per share, with a total value of $84,340.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $506,040. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LNC. Phillips Financial Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 21,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln National by 5.2% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 3.2% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 17,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Lincoln National

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.