Hennessy Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 9.9% during the second quarter, now owning approximately 1.6% of Lincoln National.
• Lincoln National Corporation reported a Q2 EPS of $2.36, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.45, but missed revenue estimates with $4.04 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 4.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 10th.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,402,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 154,700 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National comprises approximately 1.6% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.82% of Lincoln National worth $48,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 383.2% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 82.9% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 354.2% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $41.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $40.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.80. Lincoln National Corporation has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $43.66.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at $4,864,691.35. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lincoln National from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. National Bankshares set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Lincoln National to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.45.

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.

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