Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.85.

A number of equities analysts have commented on LNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays raised Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total value of $498,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 119,947 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,200.16. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Kelly sold 15,007 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $397,685.50. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth about $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 24.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,755,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,179 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 3.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,106,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,858,000 after buying an additional 215,007 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 3.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,823,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,722,000 after buying an additional 141,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,959,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,801,000 after buying an additional 14,842 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of LNC opened at $41.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.12. Lincoln National has a 1 year low of $32.18 and a 1 year high of $47.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.28. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Lincoln National’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.99 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, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 15.60%.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, operating under the Lincoln Financial Group brand, is a financial services company that provides insurance and retirement solutions primarily in the United States. Its businesses are designed to help individuals, employers and institutions manage income protection, long-term financial planning and retirement needs.

The company offers life insurance, annuities and group protection products. Its group protection business includes employer-sponsored life, disability and dental insurance, while its retirement business provides products and services intended to support workplace retirement plans and individual retirement income strategies.

Lincoln traces its origins to the founding of The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company in 1905 and takes its name from President Abraham Lincoln.