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

StockNews.com cut shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LNC traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $31.98. 32,793 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,654,840. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.81. Lincoln National has a one year low of $20.85 and a one year high of $36.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.72 and its 200 day moving average is $30.79.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.