Morgan Stanley Raises Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target to $39.00

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price objective upped by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $36.00 to $39.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential downside of 0.22% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.40.

Lincoln National Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $39.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.32 and a 200 day moving average of $32.69. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 2.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.79. Lincoln National has a 12-month low of $25.60 and a 12-month high of $39.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,227,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,244,000 after purchasing an additional 79,955 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 4.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,763,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,104,000 after buying an additional 193,025 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 4.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,373,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,322,000 after acquiring an additional 152,622 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after acquiring an additional 223,129 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,876,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,208,000 after acquiring an additional 56,614 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is 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.