Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Lowered to $48.00 at Mizuho

Key Points

• Mizuho cut Lincoln National's price target from $54 to $48 but kept an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 38.5% upside from the current share price.
• Analysts are mixed (consensus rating: Hold, average target $44.31) as several firms trimmed targets; the stock trades near $34.66 with a low P/E (~6.5) and the company recently beat estimates (Q EPS $2.21 vs. $1.86).

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by research analysts at Mizuho from $54.00 to $48.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Mizuho's price objective suggests a potential upside of 38.49% from the company's current price.

LNC has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "moderate buy" rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.31.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC traded up $0.46 during trading on Monday, reaching $34.66. The company had a trading volume of 849,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,265,861. The firm's fifty day moving average is $36.36 and its 200 day moving average is $39.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 6.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. Lincoln National has a twelve month low of $28.98 and a twelve month high of $46.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total transaction of $261,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 198,159 shares in the company, valued at $6,487,725.66. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total transaction of $127,520.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,567 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,286.27. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 21,050 shares of company stock worth $734,041 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln National by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $802,717,000 after buying an additional 1,183,934 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National by 145.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,683,000 after buying an additional 68,827 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 203,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,180,000 after buying an additional 47,419 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Lincoln National by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,952,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,051,000 after buying an additional 1,035,505 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 285,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,498,000 after buying an additional 143,862 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Company Profile

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.

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