Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Lincoln National, with seven buy, six hold and one sell rating among 14 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $47.85, above the reported share price of $42.15.
• Lincoln National exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.24 in EPS versus the $1.96 consensus and $4.93 billion in revenue, up 12.3% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, equivalent to $1.80 annually and a 4.3% yield, with a low 15.6% payout ratio.

Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.8462.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LNC. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Lincoln National from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE LNC opened at $42.15 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.45. Lincoln National has a fifty-two week low of $32.18 and a fifty-two week high of $47.67. The company has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 12.21%.Lincoln National's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 15.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total value of $498,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 119,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,431,200.16. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Kelly sold 15,007 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $397,685.50. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 24.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,755,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $275,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,179 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 3.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,823,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,722,000 after buying an additional 141,994 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,959,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $131,801,000 after buying an additional 14,842 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $101,114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, operating under the Lincoln Financial Group brand, is a financial services company that provides insurance and retirement solutions primarily in the United States. Its businesses are designed to help individuals, employers and institutions manage income protection, long-term financial planning and retirement needs.

The company offers life insurance, annuities and group protection products. Its group protection business includes employer-sponsored life, disability and dental insurance, while its retirement business provides products and services intended to support workplace retirement plans and individual retirement income strategies.

Lincoln traces its origins to the founding of The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company in 1905 and takes its name from President Abraham Lincoln.

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