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

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $44.00 to $47.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 18.17% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on LNC. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Lincoln National from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Lincoln National from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.64.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $39.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Lincoln National has a 1-year low of $32.18 and a 1-year high of $46.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.79.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Craigt T. Beazer sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.45, for a total value of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 103,906 shares in the company, valued at $3,579,561.70. This represents a 22.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.03% 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 LNC. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 2,051.1% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.