Skip to main content
LNCLincoln National CorporationHold5.7·$37.00+2.13%
HoldModerate Confidence
Investment thesis

Four consecutive earnings beats averaging nearly 14% above consensus, a forward P/E of 4.5x, and free cash flow converting at 166% of net income paint an attractively valued, cash-generative business; the near-term constraint is that the share price has already moved above the near-term resistance target, leaving no upside buffer and making patience the appropriate posture until price creates room.

Thesis pillars

  • Strong Free Cash ConversionStable
  • Perfect Earnings Beat StreakStable
  • Attractive Forward ValuationStable
  • +1 more pillar — see the Why tab for full reasoning

Full reasoning →

Open full analysis

Lincoln National Corporation (LNC) Stock Analysis

Range Bound setup · Catalyst-Driven edge

HoldVALUE-TRAP 1/5Moderate Confidence

Financial Services · Insurance - Life

Hold if already holding. Not a fresh buy at $37.00, but acceptable to hold if already in. Reasons: Analyst target reached - limited upside remaining; Negative momentum.

Lincoln National Corporation sells annuities, life insurance, group protection, and retirement plan services through four segments, distributed via approximately 450 Lincoln Financial Distributors wholesalers across wire/regional firms, independent planners, and financial... Read more

$37.00+0.1% A.UpsideScore 5.7/10#7 of 16 Insurance - Life
QualityF-score6 / 9FCF yield40.58%
IncomeYield4.86%(5y avg 4.94%)Payout19.69%sustainable
Stop $34.72Target $37.05(analyst − 13%)A.R:R 0.0:1
Analyst target$42.58+15.1%12 analysts
$37.05our TP
$37.00price
$42.58mean
$33
$56

Hold if already holding. Not a fresh buy at $37.00, but acceptable to hold if already in. Reasons: Analyst target reached - limited upside remaining; Negative momentum. Chart setup: RSI 52 mid-range, Bollinger mid-band. Mixed signals. Hold existing position. Score 5.7/10, moderate confidence.

Passes 5/9 gates (clean insider activity, news events none recent, earnings proximity 27d clear, semi cycle peak clear, materials cycle peak clear). Fails on weak momentum and favorable risk/reward ratio and death cross (50MA < 200MA). Suitability: moderate.

10-K grounded · weekly refresh

About Lincoln National Corporation

About Lincoln National Corporation

Lincoln National Corporation sells annuities, life insurance, group protection, and retirement plan services through four segments, distributed via Lincoln Financial Distributors, which employed approximately 450 internal and external wholesalers as of December 31, 2025. The company's insurance subsidiaries are subject to supervision by state insurance departments in each state where licensed and are regulated principally by the domiciliary jurisdiction; the NAIC and SEC provide additional oversight of variable and broker-dealer activities.

Lincoln National generates revenue from mortality and expense assessments on variable annuity and variable universal life separate account balances, spread income on fixed annuities and universal life products, fee charges, and group protection premiums. The Annuities segment offers variable, fixed indexed, and registered index-linked annuities (RILA) under the Lincoln Level Advantage product suite with optional guaranteed withdrawal, income, and death benefit riders hedged using derivatives. The Life Insurance segment covers UL, IUL, VUL, linked-benefit life (Lincoln MoneyGuard, combining life with long-term care access), and term products; in 2024 Lincoln National sold its wealth management business, Lincoln Financial Network. The Group Protection segment distributes through employee benefit brokers and third-party administrators, while Retirement Plan Services rounds out the portfolio.

Show full overview

Lincoln National's spread-dependent businesses — principally fixed annuities and universal life products — face dual-directional interest rate risk. The 10-K discloses that declining rates compress spreads on guaranteed minimum crediting products, while rising rates can trigger elevated surrenders; the Annuities segment experienced increased outflows in 2024 and 2025 due to the elevated interest rate environment and strong equity markets. The NAIC's adoption of VM-22 (principle-based reserving for fixed annuities, effective January 1, 2026, mandatory by January 1, 2029) and a new economic scenario generator for VM-20/VM-21 could affect statutory reserves and required capital upon full adoption, and the NAIC's temporary IMR guidance — scheduled to sunset December 31, 2026 — currently supports Lincoln National's statutory capital and RBC ratio.

See also: Financial Services · Insurance - Life

From Lincoln National Corporation's most recent 10-K filing, extracted June 11, 2026.

TrendMatrix Research · upcoming catalyst calendar

Upcoming dated catalysts

Thu, Jul 30, 202627d to earnings· next earnings call

Thesis

Rewards
Strong earnings beat streak (4/4)
Attractive valuation
Margin of safety: 73%
Risks
Analyst target reached - limited upside remaining
Negative momentum
Below 200-MA, MA slope -1.4%/30d (confirmed downtrend)

Key Metrics

P/E (TTM)4.0
P/E (Fwd)4.4
Mkt Cap$7.1B
EV/EBITDA
Profit Mgn9.2%
ROE18.8%
Rev Growth12.5%
Beta1.16
Dividend4.86%
Rating analysts19

Quality Signals

Piotroski F6/9MoatNarrow

Options Flow

P/C1.23bearish
IV68%elevated
Max Pain$55+48.6% vs spot

Material Events(8-K, last 90d)

  • 2026-04-16Item 5.02LOW
    Brian Kroll, EVP and Head of Retail Life and Annuity Solutions, notified Lincoln National of his intention to retire effective June 1, 2026. The filing states this is part of a planned succession for the Retail Life and Annuities businesses. No explicit successor named in the filing.
    SEC filing →

Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Show full disclosure ▾

About TrendMatrix. TrendMatrix is a publisher of general securities research and market commentary. We publish on a regular schedule. All content is the same for every subscriber in a tier — we do not provide personalized investment advice and we do not take into account any individual subscriber's financial situation, investment objectives, risk tolerance, tax situation, or holdings.

Not investment advice. TrendMatrix is not a registered investment adviser. Our content is for informational and educational purposes only. Consult your own licensed investment adviser, broker, or tax professional before making any investment decision.

Conflicts and positions. The TrendMatrix editorial team frequently holds personal long-term positions in securities discussed. We disclose positions held at the time of publication on each piece. We maintain a trading-window policy: we do not initiate or close positions in the same direction as a TrendMatrix publication within 24 hours before or 72 hours after publication.

No paid promotion. TrendMatrix does not accept payment from any issuer, broker, or third party in exchange for coverage of any security. Our sole compensation is subscription revenue.

No fiduciary duty. No fiduciary, advisory, or agency relationship is created between you and TrendMatrix by reading our content or subscribing to our service.

Performance. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Performance figures reflect the published model only and do not reflect any individual subscriber's actual results.

Methodology · Editorial policy & full disclaimer

Rating Breakdown

1 floor-breaker

Momentum below the gate floor. Component breakdown shows what dragged the score down.static

Obv
1.0
Volume
2.1
Macd
2.3
Rsi
4.5
Ma Position
6.0
Volume distribution (falling OBV)Below 200-MA, MA slope -1.4%/30d — confirmed downtrend
GatesMomentum 3.2<4.5A.R:R 0.0 < 1.5@spotDeath cross (50MA < 200MA)Executive change: officer departure/appointmentInsider activity: OKNEWS EVENTS NONE RECENTEARNINGS PROXIMITY 27d clearSEMI CYCLE PEAK CLEARMATERIALS CYCLE PEAK CLEARRange BoundSuitability: Moderate
RSI
52 · Neutral
20D MA 50D MA 200D MADEATH CROSSSupport $33.78Resistance $38.52

Price Targets

$35
$37
A.Upside+0.1%
A.R:R0.0:1

Position Sizing

ConvictionNone
Suggested %0.5%
Max %1%
RegimeSteady

Risk Alerts

! Target reached (0.1% upside)
! momentum at 3.2 (below the engine's 4.5 threshold)
! asymmetry at 0.0 (below the engine's 1.5 threshold)@spot

Earnings

B
B
B
B
4/4 beats
Next Earnings2026-07-30 (27d)

Verdict History

reverse chrono — latest first
Loading history...
Verdicts are recorded on every nightly pipeline run. Rows capture transitions (verdict flips, score deltas ≥0.3, entry/TP/SL changes). Rows with a ▶ can be expanded to see the change reason. Aggregate cohort performance is tracked in the recommendation ledger.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LNC stock a buy right now?

Hold if already holding. Not a fresh buy at $37.00, but acceptable to hold if already in. Reasons: Analyst target reached - limited upside remaining; Negative momentum. Chart setup: RSI 52 mid-range, Bollinger mid-band. Mixed signals. Hold existing position. Target $37.05 (+0.1%), stop $34.72 (−6.6%), A.R:R 0.0:1. Score 5.7/10, moderate confidence.

What is the LNC stock price target?

Take-profit target: $37.05 (+0.1% upside). Target $37.05 (+0.1%), stop $34.72 (−6.6%), A.R:R 0.0:1. Stop-loss: $34.72.

What are the risks of investing in LNC?

Analyst target reached - limited upside remaining; Negative momentum; Below 200-MA, MA slope -1.4%/30d (confirmed downtrend).

Is LNC overvalued or undervalued?

Lincoln National Corporation trades at a P/E of 4.0 (forward 4.4). TrendMatrix value score: 8.5/10. Verdict: Hold.

What do analysts say about LNC?

19 analysts cover LNC with a consensus score of 3.4/5. Average price target: $43.

What does Lincoln National Corporation do?Lincoln National Corporation sells annuities, life insurance, group protection, and retirement plan services through...

Lincoln National Corporation sells annuities, life insurance, group protection, and retirement plan services through four segments, distributed via approximately 450 Lincoln Financial Distributors wholesalers across wire/regional firms, independent planners, and financial institutions. The company is an Indiana holding company headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, with insurance subsidiaries regulated by state insurance departments and the NAIC.

Related stocks: ABX (Abacus Global Management, Inc.) · FG (F&G Annuities & Life, Inc.) · PRI (Primerica, Inc.) · MFC (Manulife Financial Corporation) · PUK (Prudential Public Limited Compa)
Home Stocks LNC

Latest news

Latest News

Newser67d ago
MSN67d ago
AD HOC NEWS67d ago
MarketBeat67d ago
Seeking Alpha46d ago
Insider Monkey81d agoAnalyst
GuruFocus53d agoAnalyst
MarketBeat53d agoAnalyst
The Globe and Mail53d agoAnalyst
StockStory61d agoEarnings
The Globe and Mail69d agoEarnings
AD HOC NEWS47d agoEarnings
MarketBeat82d agoAnalyst
Seeking Alpha54d ago
MarketBeat66d ago
MarketBeat66d agoEarnings
MarketWatch73d ago
MarketBeat73d agoAnalyst
Quiver Quantitative80d ago
TipRanks80d agoRestructuring
Loading more...