Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) to Buy

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $34.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, up from their prior price target of $26.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $29.90.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock traded up $1.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,067,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,842,815. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The business's fifty day moving average price is $29.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.80. Lincoln National has a one year low of $20.47 and a one year high of $32.43.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Lincoln National's payout ratio is currently 24.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Algebris UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 122.5% during the 1st quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 861,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,582,000 after acquiring an additional 474,171 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at $615,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 30,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 6,207 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at $364,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at $9,938,000. 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.