Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Raised to $44.00

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price objective boosted by Evercore ISI from $41.00 to $44.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.10.

Lincoln National Stock Down 3.2 %

LNC stock opened at $37.55 on Wednesday. Lincoln National has a twelve month low of $25.60 and a twelve month high of $39.85. The company has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 2.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,281,000 after buying an additional 223,129 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 10,560 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at $1,075,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,373,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,322,000 after acquiring an additional 152,622 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at $1,094,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.