Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

LNC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.00.

Lincoln National Trading Down 0.4 %

Lincoln National stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,167,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,653,120. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $31.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National has a twelve month low of $20.85 and a twelve month high of $36.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.58, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.81.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 12.24%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 5.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.62%.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,854,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $697,825,000 after buying an additional 166,167 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $142,148,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,086,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $95,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,896 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 14.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,828,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,970,000 after purchasing an additional 348,601 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,249,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,966,000 after purchasing an additional 31,235 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is 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.