Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Hits New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $37.15 and last traded at $36.83, with a volume of 1220737 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.77.

The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 18.15%.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.60.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 8,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 6,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Up 3.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $32.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.49.

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.