Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock Price Down 5.9%

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) shares traded down 5.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $25.80 and last traded at $26.07. 1,521,260 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 1,874,454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Lincoln National from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.45.

Lincoln National Stock Up 4.3 %

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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.56. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.84, a PEG ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 1.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.13. Lincoln National had a net margin of 11.31% and a return on equity of 19.50%. The business had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.41%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In related news, Director Owen Ryan acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $259,000. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 2,107.9% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,279,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,703,000 after acquiring an additional 4,085,637 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $54,026,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 53.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,157,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,951,000 after buying an additional 1,098,532 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Lincoln National by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,688,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,943,000 after buying an additional 1,094,789 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 82.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,758,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,424,000 after buying an additional 792,900 shares during 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.