Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on LNC. TD Cowen started coverage on Lincoln National in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $33.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 4.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.81. Lincoln National has a 1-year low of $20.85 and a 1-year high of $36.46. 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 (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.07. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Lincoln National will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Lincoln National by 106.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 535.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 249.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 873 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.