Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Receives $36.82 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.82.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln National from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Lincoln National stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $32.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,079,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,974. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.92. Lincoln National has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $39.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.42.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.49%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,393.30. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total transaction of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 154,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,051,463.56. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 4.7% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 6,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Company Profile

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.