Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.70.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. National Bankshares set a $41.00 price objective on Lincoln National in a research note on Monday. Barclays upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total value of $333,482.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,613,393.30. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 58,697 shares of company stock worth $1,959,862. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 99.6% in the second quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 33,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 16,616 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 4.2% in the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 73,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,808,000 after acquiring an additional 3,003 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 20.5% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 102,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,531,000 after acquiring an additional 17,337 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 7.8% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 582,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,139,000 after acquiring an additional 41,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 3.2% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Up 3.1%

NYSE LNC opened at $41.9140 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.99 and a 200-day moving average of $34.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42. Lincoln National has a 52 week low of $27.58 and a 52 week high of $42.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.41%.

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.