Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Raised to $36.00

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $28.00 to $36.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

LNC has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.10.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC stock opened at $37.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.93. Lincoln National has a 12-month low of $25.60 and a 12-month high of $39.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 2.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. As a group, research analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 535.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 2.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 159,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 4.0% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 8,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 4,737.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 98,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 96,843 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Company Profile

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.