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

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.91.

LNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after purchasing an additional 223,129 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 20,127.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 316,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,051,000 after buying an additional 315,398 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 10,560 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,050,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 330,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,488,000 after acquiring an additional 41,533 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.7 %

LNC opened at $30.25 on Friday. Lincoln National has a fifty-two week low of $25.80 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $35.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.03.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 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.