Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Increases Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 292,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,943 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $9,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Lincoln National by 106.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on LNC. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. 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 note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.64.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE LNC opened at $31.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.30, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.02 and a 200 day moving average of $30.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Lincoln National Co. has a twelve month low of $20.85 and a twelve month high of $36.46.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.07. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.73%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.62%.

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.