Analysts Set Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) Price Target at $43.00

Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LNC shares. National Bank Financial set a $40.00 price objective on Lincoln National in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Lincoln National from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Lincoln National from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Lincoln National from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Craigt T. Beazer sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.45, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 103,906 shares in the company, valued at $3,579,561.70. This trade represents a 22.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Lincoln National by 6.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,934 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,052,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,742,000. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,481,000. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 231,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after buying an additional 41,817 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $37.24 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.88 and a 200 day moving average of $38.47. Lincoln National has a 52 week low of $31.69 and a 52 week high of $46.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.32, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.93 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.17%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 20.88%.

Lincoln National Company Profile

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.