New Century Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 43,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,094,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at $324,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 10,560 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 2,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

NYSE:LNC opened at $33.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Lincoln National Co. has a 52 week low of $25.09 and a 52 week high of $36.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.78.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.42. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. Lincoln National’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.37%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.40.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

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

Lincoln National 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.