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

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Lincoln National from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Lincoln National from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. TheStreet lowered Lincoln National from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Lincoln National from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.60.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE LNC traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $31.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,492,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,974,205. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.65 and a 200 day moving average of $25.75. The stock has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.79. Lincoln National has a 52-week low of $18.50 and a 52-week high of $32.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Lincoln National had a positive return on equity of 20.81% and a negative net margin of 6.46%. Sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Owen Ryan acquired 10,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $259,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $259,000. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $226,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $1,897,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,688,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $584,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,789 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $307,000. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.