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

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.78.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $34.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $33.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.95. Lincoln National has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $39.85. 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 (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Lincoln National had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,613,393.30. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 directly owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 354.2% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $260,000. Range Financial Group LLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 37,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 120,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,336,000 after purchasing an additional 18,364 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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