Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.64.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America cut 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 report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays began coverage on Lincoln National in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th.

Lincoln National Stock Down 5.6 %

LNC opened at $29.45 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.23. 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 $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.84. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 17.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the second quarter worth $1,798,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Lincoln National by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 62,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 3,171 shares during the period. Ted Buchan & Co purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter worth $1,361,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 178,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,546,000 after purchasing an additional 5,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Lincoln National by 96.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 616,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,167,000 after purchasing an additional 301,788 shares during the period. 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.