Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $28.95, but opened at $30.13. Lincoln National shares last traded at $28.91, with a volume of 1,114,957 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.27.

Lincoln National Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.10.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LNC. M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 182.2% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Company Profile

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.