JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln National has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.00.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE LNC traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,463,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,857. The company has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 4.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Lincoln National has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $39.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.71 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.00%. Lincoln National's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.28%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 25.57%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 directly owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 48,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 383.2% in the first 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 during the period. M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new stake 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 in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by 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.