Brokerages Set Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Price Target at $37.10

Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.40.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Lincoln National Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of LNC opened at $39.00 on Friday. Lincoln National has a 1-year low of $25.60 and a 1-year high of $39.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.51 and a 200 day moving average of $33.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.12, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its position in Lincoln National by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 6,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Lincoln National by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Lincoln National by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 354 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, 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.