Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.91.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE LNC traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.25. 1,555,903 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,620,361. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National has a 12 month low of $25.80 and a 12 month high of $39.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.03. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.95%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is 9.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNC. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the first quarter worth $33,000. M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

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.