Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Lincoln National had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 18.15%.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $35.74. 2,906,206 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,472,358. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.90 and a 200-day moving average of $32.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.79. Lincoln National has a 52 week low of $25.09 and a 52 week high of $36.98.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.04%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LNC. StockNews.com raised Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.40.

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.