Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.40.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen increased 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:LNC opened at $37.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 2.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.07 and a 200 day moving average of $33.85. Lincoln National has a 1-year low of $25.80 and a 1-year high of $39.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,189,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 301.2% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,522,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,269,000 after buying an additional 1,142,759 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Lincoln National by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,948,000 after buying an additional 708,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 190.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,508,000 after acquiring an additional 486,478 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

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.