StockNews.com Lowers Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LNC. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Lincoln National in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE:LNC opened at $32.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 4.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.81. Lincoln National has a twelve month low of $20.85 and a twelve month high of $36.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.87.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.07. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 5.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 24.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 106.7% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 535.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 249.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.