Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Raised to "Hold" at Cfra Research

Key Points

• Cfra Research upgraded Lincoln National's stock rating to "hold", reflecting a cautious outlook on the company amid mixed performance indicators.
• Lincoln National's stock has experienced a range of $27.58 to $39.85 over the past year, indicating volatility in its market performance.
• The company reported earnings per share of $2.36 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates but fell short on revenue expectations with $4.04 billion.

Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.22.

Lincoln National Trading Up 3.8%

NYSE LNC traded up $1.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,703,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,984,555. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.52. The stock has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total transaction of $196,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,864,691.35. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $1,429,929.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. This trade represents a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,697 shares of company stock worth $1,959,862 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 5.2% during 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 in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. 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.