Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Increased to $34.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target lifted by Piper Sandler from $30.00 to $34.00 in a report issued on Friday, 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Lincoln National from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $30.70.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $31.33 on Friday. Lincoln National has a 1 year low of $20.85 and a 1 year high of $33.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 4.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 55,127 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,457,165.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 32.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 217,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,371,000 after purchasing an additional 53,645 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 139,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,434,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter valued at $326,000. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 27,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Lincoln National by 17.5% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 91,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,255,000 after acquiring an additional 13,630 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.