Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%.

Lincoln National Stock Up 5.8 %

Lincoln National stock traded up $1.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $35.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,906,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,472,500. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National has a fifty-two week low of $25.09 and a fifty-two week high of $36.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.79.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.40.

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.