Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.40.

A number of research firms have issued reports on LNC. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LNC. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 3.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 5.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 20.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $36.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.99, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. Lincoln National has a 1-year low of $25.80 and a 1-year high of $39.85. 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 50 day moving average price of $35.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.64.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Lincoln National’s 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.