Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Lincoln National's rating from "sell" to "hold", reflecting a more favorable outlook for the stock.
• Analysts have varied price targets for Lincoln National, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising their target to $40.00 and Wells Fargo increasing theirs to $35.00.
• Lincoln National reported an earnings per share of $2.36 in its latest quarterly results, exceeding estimates by $0.45, despite revenue falling short of projections.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LNC. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler lowered 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.22.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

LNC stock traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.56. 1,338,262 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,973,447. The stock has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.90, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.42. Lincoln National has a 52-week low of $27.58 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The stock's 50-day moving average is $34.19 and its 200 day moving average is $34.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 154,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 48,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $97,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,799,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 55,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,911,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the period. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 59,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,072,000 after purchasing an additional 6,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

About Lincoln National

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.