Wells Fargo Upgrades Lincoln National (LNC) to Overweight
Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) is one of the 14 Most Undervalued NYSE Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
Wells Fargo upgraded its call on Lincoln National to Overweight (from Equal Weight) on February 25. This rating upgrade was accompanied by a 17.1% increase in the firm’s target price on the company to $48 (from $41). These changes were triggered by the release of the company’s FY 2025 earnings briefing on February 12.
The firm thinks that the company’s “momentum is gathering in a positive direction,” as shown by the 39% YoY growth in the free cash flows to the firm that Lincoln National generated in FY 2025. The life insurance segment was a key driver for this cash flow growth, with operating profit margins improving sequentially from improved mortality rates and higher alternative investment income.
With this improved cash flow, the company was able to meet its 2026 targets for capital buffer (as measured by its Risk-Based Capital (RBC) ratio) and leverage (as measured by its leverage ratio) a year in advance. With the balance sheet targets met, Wells now believes that Lincoln will start buying back stocks as early as 2026 and will ramp up in 2027 and 2028.
Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC), through its subsidiaries, provides insurance and retirement policies. The company is based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and was founded in 1968.
While we acknowledge the potential of LNC as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
VIPCross-Asset Positioning Amid AI Earnings Scrutiny and the US Election
1. Markets diverged during the week. Between the October 23 and October 30 closes, BTC fell 4.78%, the Nasdaq 100 declined 1.98%, and gold and silver dropped 2.72% and 8.59%, respectively. The DAX, KOSPI, Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng advanced. We focus on differences in growth prospects, valuation sensitivity and risk exposures rather than applying a single directional view across assets. 2. Market reactions to Alphabet's and Intel's earnings brought returns on AI investment into focus. Attention is shifting from the scale of capital expenditure to revenue realization, margins and free cash flow. Lower interest rates can ease discount-rate pressure, but a sustained valuation recovery still requires support from both operating performance and financing conditions. 3. The November 3 US midterm elections and November 6 employment report are key events in the coming week. We monitor how post-election fiscal and legislative agendas may affect interest rates, the dollar and industry operating conditions. Our execution priorities are to manage leverage and concentration, retain margin and exit-liquidity buffers, and avoid treating a single political outcome as an automatic trading signal. 4. Following Binance's disclosure of a security incident, industry attention to endpoint protection, access segregation and coordinated incident response has increased. Key assets to monitor: BTC, the Nasdaq 100, crude oil and gold, alongside upcoming earnings from AAPL, AMD, PLTR, ARM, ANET and QCOM.
HYATT HOTELS CORP <H.N>: JEFFERIES RAISES TARGET PRICE TO $188 FROM $167
Italgas Raised to Buy From Hold by Berenberg
BANCORP INC <TBBK.O>: KBW CUTS TARGET PRICE TO $56 FROM $65
Crypto prices
More
