Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Raised to $34.00

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target hoisted by Piper Sandler from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

LNC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Lincoln National from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln National from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $30.70.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $31.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.85. Lincoln National has a 12-month low of $20.85 and a 12-month high of $33.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.59 and a 200-day moving average of $28.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.27. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.62%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 55,127 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.57, for a total value of $1,795,486.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,457,165.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln National by 49.9% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at about $1,135,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 48.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 20,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 6,655 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Lincoln National by 384.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after buying an additional 47,312 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.