Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Raised to $38.00

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target increased by Barclays from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

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

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $37.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.49. Lincoln National has a 1-year low of $25.09 and a 1-year high of $37.24. The company has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.01, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.79.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. 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 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. On average, research analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 9.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 535.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 95.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors 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.