Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) and Baldwin Insurance Group (NASDAQ:BWIN) Critical Survey

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) and Baldwin Insurance Group (NASDAQ:BWIN) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

Lincoln National has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Baldwin Insurance Group has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lincoln National and Baldwin Insurance Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lincoln National	$18.21 billion	0.36	$1.18 billion	$8.62	4.03
Baldwin Insurance Group	$1.50 billion	1.88	-$33.81 million	($0.67)	-29.67

Lincoln National has higher revenue and earnings than Baldwin Insurance Group. Baldwin Insurance Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lincoln National, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Lincoln National and Baldwin Insurance Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lincoln National	9.17%	18.07%	0.41%
Baldwin Insurance Group	-2.80%	12.35%	3.43%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

72.8% of Lincoln National shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.5% of Baldwin Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Lincoln National shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 18.5% of Baldwin Insurance Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Lincoln National and Baldwin Insurance Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lincoln National	2	9	5	0	2.19
Baldwin Insurance Group	2	4	4	1	2.36

Lincoln National presently has a consensus target price of $43.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.73%. Baldwin Insurance Group has a consensus target price of $30.25, suggesting a potential upside of 52.16%. Given Baldwin Insurance Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Baldwin Insurance Group is more favorable than Lincoln National.

Summary

Baldwin Insurance Group beats Lincoln National on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Annuities segment offers variable, fixed, and registered index-linked annuities. The Group Protection segment offers group non-medical insurance products consisting of short and long-term disability and statutory disability; paid family medical leave administration and absence management services; term life; dental and vision; and accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity benefits and services to the employer marketplace through various forms of employee-paid and employer-paid plans. The Retirement Plan Services segment provides employers with retirement plan products and services primarily in the defined contribution retirement plan marketplace; individual and group variable annuities, group fixed annuities, and mutual fund-based programs; and various plan services, including plan recordkeeping, compliance testing, participant education, and trust and custodial services. The company distributes its products through consultants, brokers, planners, agents, financial advisors, third-party administrators, and other intermediaries. Lincoln National Corporation was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania.

About Baldwin Insurance Group

The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc. operates as an independent insurance distribution firm that delivers insurance and risk management solutions in the United States. It operates through three segments: Insurance Advisory Solutions; Underwriting, Capacity & Technology Solutions; and Mainstreet Insurance Solutions. The Insurance Advisory Solutions segment provides commercial risk management, employee benefits, and private risk management solutions for businesses and high-net-worth individuals, as well as their families. The Underwriting, Capacity & Technology Solutions segment offers Future platform, that manufactures technology-enabled insurance products suite comprises personal, commercial, and specialty lines; specialty wholesale broker business that delivers professionals, individuals, and niche industry businesses; and reinsurance brokerage services. The Mainstreet Insurance Solutions segment provides personal insurance, commercial insurance, and life and health solutions to individuals and businesses in communities. The company was formerly known as BRP Group, Inc. and changed its name to The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc. in May 2024. The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.