Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LNC. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research raised Lincoln National to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, National Bankshares set a $44.00 price target on Lincoln National in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.82.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNC traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $41.10. 1,504,415 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,897,447. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.92. The company has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.49. Lincoln National has a 52-week low of $27.58 and a 52-week high of $43.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 383.2% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Lincoln National in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

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.