Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $37.00 to $40.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on LNC. StockNews.com raised Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.40.

Lincoln National Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $38.94 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $33.14 and its 200 day moving average is $32.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.79. Lincoln National has a 1 year low of $25.60 and a 1 year high of $39.04.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,227,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,244,000 after acquiring an additional 79,955 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,763,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,104,000 after acquiring an additional 193,025 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,373,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,322,000 after acquiring an additional 152,622 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after acquiring an additional 223,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,951,000. Hedge funds and other 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.