Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC traded down $4.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.02. 4,210,155 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,314,085. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.64. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Lincoln National has a 52 week low of $20.85 and a 52 week high of $36.46.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.00%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.62%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 55,127 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.57, for a total value of $1,795,486.39. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,457,165.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.18.

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.