Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

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 equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

LNC has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.78.

Lincoln National Price Performance

NYSE:LNC opened at $36.85 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.97 and a 200-day moving average of $34.27. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.43, a PEG ratio of 0.55 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.26.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total transaction of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at $5,051,463.56. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 3.0% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 4.7% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 18.1% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 4.8% during the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 8,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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