Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Sunday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.82.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE LNC traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $33.14. 2,317,570 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,638,794. The company's 50-day moving average price is $32.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Lincoln National has a 52-week low of $27.58 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.40.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm's revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.57%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 154,102 shares in the company, valued at $5,051,463.56. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $333,482.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 383.2% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the first quarter worth $33,000. M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

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.