Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on LNC. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Lincoln National in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $33.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.52, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.81. Lincoln National has a 52 week low of $20.85 and a 52 week high of $36.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.88.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.07. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.45%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LNC. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.0% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 8,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Lincoln National by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 1.6% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 4.4% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently 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.