Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for Lincoln National's stock from $58.00 to $53.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating, indicating a potential upside of 31.96% from the previous close.
• Other analysts have mixed ratings on Lincoln National, with reports ranging from a "strong sell" by Wolfe Research to an "overweight" rating from Morgan Stanley, showing a broad spectrum of sentiment about the stock.
• Lincoln National's stock has recently traded down 0.2%, reaching $40.17, with a market cap of $7.61 billion and recent earnings surpassing analysts' expectations with $2.36 EPS reported.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $58.00 to $53.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 31.96% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on LNC. Wolfe Research upgraded Lincoln National to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. National Bankshares set a $41.00 price objective on Lincoln National in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.55.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of LNC traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 196,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,942,923. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.48 and a 200 day moving average of $35.81. The company has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.43. Lincoln National has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $43.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value 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. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 383.2% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the second quarter worth about $29,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 82.9% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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