Lincoln National (LNC) Competitors

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) and Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Do analysts rate LNC or BHF?

Lincoln National currently has a consensus price target of $38.78, suggesting a potential upside of 12.27%. Brighthouse Financial has a consensus price target of $60.30, suggesting a potential upside of 18.61%. Given Brighthouse Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Brighthouse Financial is more favorable than Lincoln National.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lincoln National	1 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.89
Brighthouse Financial	2 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.11

Does the media favor LNC or BHF?

In the previous week, Brighthouse Financial had 4 more articles in the media than Lincoln National. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Brighthouse Financial and 12 mentions for Lincoln National. Lincoln National's average media sentiment score of 0.71 beat Brighthouse Financial's score of 0.52 indicating that Lincoln National is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Lincoln National	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Brighthouse Financial	7 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, LNC or BHF?

Lincoln National has a beta of 1.39, meaning that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brighthouse Financial has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is LNC or BHF more profitable?

Brighthouse Financial has a net margin of 8.71% compared to Lincoln National's net margin of 7.00%. Brighthouse Financial's return on equity of 25.60% beat Lincoln National's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lincoln National	7.00%	18.71%	0.35%
Brighthouse Financial	8.71%	25.60%	0.54%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of LNC or BHF?

72.8% of Lincoln National shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Brighthouse Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Lincoln National shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Brighthouse Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, LNC or BHF?

Lincoln National has higher revenue and earnings than Brighthouse Financial. Lincoln National is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brighthouse Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lincoln National	$18.44B	0.32	$3.28B	$7.04	4.91
Brighthouse Financial	$4.72B	0.62	$388M	$8.34	6.10

Summary

Brighthouse Financial beats Lincoln National on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.