Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $32.21 and traded as high as $32.22. Lincoln National shares last traded at $31.84, with a volume of 1,513,654 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNC has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.25.

Lincoln National Price Performance

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 capitalization of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.22.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $103,068.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,184. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 535.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Lincoln National by 95.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.