Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Cut to $43.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company cut its price target on Lincoln National from $48 to $43 while maintaining an "overweight" rating, implying about a 25.55% upside from the stock's previous close.
• The analyst landscape is mixed—six Buys, seven Holds and two Sells—giving an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.38.
• Shares traded at $34.25 on Friday; Lincoln posted an EPS beat ($2.21 vs. $1.86), trades at a PE of 6.45 with a $6.51 billion market cap, suggesting valuation appeal amid recent volatility.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $48.00 to $43.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target suggests a potential upside of 25.55% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on LNC. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "moderate buy" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.38.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock traded down $0.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $34.25. The company had a trading volume of 118,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,266,048. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $36.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National has a one year low of $28.23 and a one year high of $46.82. The company has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 6.45, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.35. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.The business had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total value of $127,520.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,957,286.27. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln bought 2,254,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,784,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,508,130.98. The trade was a 29.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 21,050 shares of company stock valued at $734,041 in the last 90 days. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $802,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,934 shares in the last quarter. Bain Capital Prairie LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,233,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $277,574,000 after purchasing an additional 502,600 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,199,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $214,504,000 after purchasing an additional 40,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,952,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $240,051,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.