Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

LNC has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Lincoln National from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $28.45.

Lincoln National Stock Down 1.6 %

LNC stock opened at $26.85 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.22. The company has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.81. Lincoln National has a twelve month low of $18.50 and a twelve month high of $32.43.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Lincoln National had a positive return on equity of 20.81% and a negative net margin of 6.46%. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -36.07%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other news, Director Owen Ryan bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $259,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $259,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grimes & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 5,324 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 26,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 6,528 shares in the last quarter. 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.