Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock Price

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $42.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.67% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. 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, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE LNC traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.65. The stock had a trading volume of 311,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,558,379. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.16. Lincoln National has a 52 week low of $25.60 and a 52 week high of $39.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced 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%. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln National by 535.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 72.81% of the stock is owned by 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.