Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Raised to $42.00 at Morgan Stanley

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target lifted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $42.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.67% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.65. 311,998 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,558,379. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Lincoln National has a 12-month low of $25.60 and a 12-month high of $39.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.16.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $54,189,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 301.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,522,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,269,000 after buying an additional 1,142,759 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,948,000 after purchasing an additional 708,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 190.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,508,000 after purchasing an additional 486,478 shares in the last quarter. 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.