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Lincoln National (LNC) Pauses Buybacks to Recover Q3 Loss
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Management of Lincoln National Corporation (LNC - Free Report) announced the suspension of its share buyback program in 2023, at the Goldman Sachs U.S Financial Services Conference held on December 7. The decision was taken as a means of recovering the dismal $2.6 billion loss incurred in the company’s third-quarter 2022 results.
Putting share repurchases on hold might act as a drag on investors’ sentiments, as continued buybacks signal a solid financial prospect for a company. As a company buys back its shares, the outstanding shares in the market decrease and therefore, the stock price is likely to increase. This, in turn, boosts the ownership stake of shareholders in the company's shares.
Overall, this year had not been a good one for Lincoln National, as cited by the company CEO Ellen Cooper at the abovementioned conference. Headwinds ranging from a statutory charge of $550 million on LNC’s reserves, continued incidence of COVID claims and adverse results within the life insurance business gave a blow to the insurer’s performance.
Before 2022, Lincoln National maintained a sound record of generating an annual capital of $2.4 billion. It also resorted to increasing share buyback authorization from time to time. However, due to several challenges this year, management expects LNC to witness a negative capital generation of $1.6 billion in 2022. In absence of prudent capital management, the insurer’s risk-based capital ratio might continue to deteriorate.
Bringing in a ray of hope, Lincoln National is undertaking steps to shield itself against adversities inflicted by the cropping up of unforeseeable macro headwinds. These measures include bringing about a change in the business mix, decreasing volatility to capital markets and raising capital in the form of preferred equity. With the financial impetus received through such efforts, LNC aims to repay debts in the third quarter of 2023 and inject strength in the form of contributing 30 points to its risk-based capital ratio.
Though the CEO remains optimistic about capital generation improving next year, it is still likely to face a headwind and remain below the pre-2022 record. Management believes continued strong sales, new business generation, frequent interest rate hikes and cost-cutting efforts arising from the Spark program can help in restoring a strong financial position. Only then LNC can lift the suspension on share buybacks and continue rewarding more profits to shareholders.
Shares of LNC have lost 35.2% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 2.8% decline.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Lincoln National currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the insurance space are Employers Holdings, Inc. (EIG - Free Report) , Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA - Free Report) and Unum Group (UNM - Free Report) . While Employers Holdings sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Reinsurance Group and Unum Group carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The bottom line of Employers Holdings outpaced estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed the mark once, the average being 25.31%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EIG’s 2022 earnings suggests a 3.4% improvement, while the same for revenues indicates a 7.3% rise from the respective prior-year reported figures. The consensus mark for EIG’s 2022 earnings has moved 14% north in the past 60 days.
Reinsurance Group’s bottom line outpaced estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark once, the average surprise being 49.74%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RGA’s 2022 earnings is pegged at $14.97 per share, indicating increase of more than 13-fold year over year. The same for revenues indicates a 3.8% improvement from the prior-year figure. The consensus mark for RGA’s 2022 earnings has moved 9.7% north in the past 30 days.
The bottom line of Unum Group outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 34.90%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UNM’s 2022 earnings suggests a 43.5% improvement, while the same for revenues indicates a 0.6% rise from the respective prior-year reported figures. The consensus mark for UNM’s 2022 earnings has moved 0.5% north in the past 30 days.
Shares of Employers Holdings, Reinsurance Group and Unum Group have gained 5.4%, 18.6% and 14.4%, respectively, in the past six months.
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Lincoln National (LNC) Pauses Buybacks to Recover Q3 Loss
Management of Lincoln National Corporation (LNC - Free Report) announced the suspension of its share buyback program in 2023, at the Goldman Sachs U.S Financial Services Conference held on December 7. The decision was taken as a means of recovering the dismal $2.6 billion loss incurred in the company’s third-quarter 2022 results.
Putting share repurchases on hold might act as a drag on investors’ sentiments, as continued buybacks signal a solid financial prospect for a company. As a company buys back its shares, the outstanding shares in the market decrease and therefore, the stock price is likely to increase. This, in turn, boosts the ownership stake of shareholders in the company's shares.
Overall, this year had not been a good one for Lincoln National, as cited by the company CEO Ellen Cooper at the abovementioned conference. Headwinds ranging from a statutory charge of $550 million on LNC’s reserves, continued incidence of COVID claims and adverse results within the life insurance business gave a blow to the insurer’s performance.
Before 2022, Lincoln National maintained a sound record of generating an annual capital of $2.4 billion. It also resorted to increasing share buyback authorization from time to time. However, due to several challenges this year, management expects LNC to witness a negative capital generation of $1.6 billion in 2022. In absence of prudent capital management, the insurer’s risk-based capital ratio might continue to deteriorate.
Bringing in a ray of hope, Lincoln National is undertaking steps to shield itself against adversities inflicted by the cropping up of unforeseeable macro headwinds. These measures include bringing about a change in the business mix, decreasing volatility to capital markets and raising capital in the form of preferred equity. With the financial impetus received through such efforts, LNC aims to repay debts in the third quarter of 2023 and inject strength in the form of contributing 30 points to its risk-based capital ratio.
Though the CEO remains optimistic about capital generation improving next year, it is still likely to face a headwind and remain below the pre-2022 record. Management believes continued strong sales, new business generation, frequent interest rate hikes and cost-cutting efforts arising from the Spark program can help in restoring a strong financial position. Only then LNC can lift the suspension on share buybacks and continue rewarding more profits to shareholders.
Shares of LNC have lost 35.2% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 2.8% decline.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Lincoln National currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the insurance space are Employers Holdings, Inc. (EIG - Free Report) , Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA - Free Report) and Unum Group (UNM - Free Report) . While Employers Holdings sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Reinsurance Group and Unum Group carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The bottom line of Employers Holdings outpaced estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed the mark once, the average being 25.31%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EIG’s 2022 earnings suggests a 3.4% improvement, while the same for revenues indicates a 7.3% rise from the respective prior-year reported figures. The consensus mark for EIG’s 2022 earnings has moved 14% north in the past 60 days.
Reinsurance Group’s bottom line outpaced estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark once, the average surprise being 49.74%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RGA’s 2022 earnings is pegged at $14.97 per share, indicating increase of more than 13-fold year over year. The same for revenues indicates a 3.8% improvement from the prior-year figure. The consensus mark for RGA’s 2022 earnings has moved 9.7% north in the past 30 days.
The bottom line of Unum Group outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 34.90%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UNM’s 2022 earnings suggests a 43.5% improvement, while the same for revenues indicates a 0.6% rise from the respective prior-year reported figures. The consensus mark for UNM’s 2022 earnings has moved 0.5% north in the past 30 days.
Shares of Employers Holdings, Reinsurance Group and Unum Group have gained 5.4%, 18.6% and 14.4%, respectively, in the past six months.