Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.10.

A number of research firms have weighed in on LNC. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at $54,189,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 301.2% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,522,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142,759 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Lincoln National by 3,488.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 966,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,669,000 after purchasing an additional 939,447 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,948,000 after acquiring an additional 708,584 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of LNC opened at $37.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 2.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79. Lincoln National has a 52-week low of $25.60 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.21 and a 200 day moving average of $33.13. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 4.81%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

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.