Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on LNC. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $33.51 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.19 and a 200 day moving average of $30.88. Lincoln National has a 12 month low of $20.85 and a 12 month high of $36.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.07. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 6.2% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 13.3% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 1.6% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 4.4% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 106.7% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

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.