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

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.40.

LNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $32.09 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $31.46 and a 200-day moving average of $30.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 4.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National has a 52-week low of $20.85 and a 52-week high of $36.46.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 17.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $142,148,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,026,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,086,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,896 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,688,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,789 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,649,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

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.