Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Raised to $54.00

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC – Free Report) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Lincoln National from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $49.00 price target on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.25.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Lincoln National

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC stock opened at $40.18 on Monday. Lincoln National has a 1 year low of $32.18 and a 1 year high of $47.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 3.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.33.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 12.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 15.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total transaction of $498,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 119,947 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,200.16. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Kelly sold 15,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $397,685.50. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthstar Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,183,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 557.5% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 158,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,585,000 after buying an additional 133,973 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 3.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,106,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,858,000 after buying an additional 215,007 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the second quarter worth approximately $63,112,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 9.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 522,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,561,000 after buying an additional 45,549 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln National

(Get Free Report)

Lincoln National Corporation, operating under the Lincoln Financial Group brand, is a financial services company that provides insurance and retirement solutions primarily in the United States. Its businesses serve individuals, families, employers and institutions through a portfolio of life insurance, annuities and workplace benefit products.

The company’s offerings include term and permanent life insurance, variable and fixed annuities, and retirement plan services designed to support income and financial planning needs.

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Analyst Recommendations for Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC)

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