Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $42.59, but opened at $43.87. Lincoln National shares last traded at $42.7820, with a volume of 88,951 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lincoln National from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $50.00 price target on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Monday, August 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.07.

Lincoln National Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.95. 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 cap of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.68, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.14.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary C. Kelly sold 15,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $397,685.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Craigt T. Beazer sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.45, for a total value of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 103,906 shares in the company, valued at $3,579,561.70. This trade represents a 22.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 56,007 shares of company stock worth $1,929,266 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 buying an additional 1,522,179 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 3,440.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,021,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $248,199,000 after purchasing an additional 6,822,846 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position 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 worth $214,504,000 after purchasing an additional 40,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 3.9% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,823,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,722,000 after acquiring an additional 141,994 shares during the last quarter. 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.