Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $28.00 to $36.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.10.

Lincoln National Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $37.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 2.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.93. Lincoln National has a fifty-two week low of $25.60 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth about $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,189,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 301.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,522,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142,759 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln National by 3,488.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 966,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,669,000 after purchasing an additional 939,447 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Lincoln National by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,948,000 after purchasing an additional 708,584 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.