Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on LNC. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Lincoln National Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $33.61 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Lincoln National has a 12-month low of $20.85 and a 12-month high of $36.46. The company has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.60, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.81.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.07. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 106.7% in 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. Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new stake in Lincoln National in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Lincoln National by 535.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 249.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is 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.