Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Rating Increased to Overweight at Barclays

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $45.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $42.00. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.80% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.21.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $36.95 on Monday. Lincoln National has a 12-month low of $32.18 and a 12-month high of $46.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 4.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.17%.The firm had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Craigt T. Beazer sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.45, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 103,906 shares in the company, valued at $3,579,561.70. The trade was a 22.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,755,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,179 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,199,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,504,000 after purchasing an additional 40,676 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,823,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,722,000 after purchasing an additional 141,994 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,959,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,801,000 after purchasing an additional 14,842 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.