Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Trading Up 5.4% – Time to Buy?

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)’s share price rose 5.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $35.49 and last traded at $35.74. Approximately 270,248 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,253,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.40.

Lincoln National Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.42. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Lincoln National’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $103,068.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,184. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,189,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 3,488.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 966,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,669,000 after acquiring an additional 939,447 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 167.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 600,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,913,000 after acquiring an additional 375,989 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 96.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 616,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,167,000 after purchasing an additional 301,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after purchasing an additional 223,129 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.