Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.1667.

Several analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. National Bankshares set a $59.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Lincoln National to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, Director Owen Ryan purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.17 per share, for a total transaction of $84,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $506,040. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 3,519 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.15, for a total transaction of $155,363.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,253,187.75. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LNC. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Lincoln National by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,566,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,155,000 after acquiring an additional 146,667 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 72.9% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 245,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,504,000 after purchasing an additional 103,591 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 3.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 267,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,595,000 after purchasing an additional 10,018 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 7.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,084,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,753,000 after purchasing an additional 208,114 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Lincoln National by 271.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 180,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,467,000 after buying an additional 131,566 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $46.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.30. Lincoln National has a 52-week low of $27.58 and a 52-week high of $46.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.13, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.33.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 11.49%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.16%.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.