Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $28.95, but opened at $30.13. Lincoln National shares last traded at $28.91, with a volume of 1,114,957 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.91.

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.6 %

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $35.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56.

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Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at about $54,189,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 301.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,522,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142,759 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,948,000 after acquiring an additional 708,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 190.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,508,000 after purchasing an additional 486,478 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.