Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $28.95, but opened at $30.13. Lincoln National shares last traded at $28.91, with a volume of 1,114,957 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.27.

Lincoln National Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.56, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.10. 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 (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 9.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at $211,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 4,639.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 317,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,397,000 after purchasing an additional 310,677 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,044,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by 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.