Wachovia Upgrades Lincoln National (LNC) to Outperform, Says Firm Can Handle Losses

Wachovia upgrades Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) from Market Perform to Outperform, citing reassuring Q1 earnings and following the conclusions of a recent study of the investment portfolios of the life insurers in their coverage universe.

The firm said, "We believe that Lincoln Financial will be able to handle our estimated cumulative loss of $1.5 billion using available funding resources. We also conclude that GAAP book value of $28.59, though lower than our estimate, reasonably approximates economic book value. We expect improvement to LNC’s ($2.9) billion AOCI position to be reflected in the stock as the credit markets recover..."

Street Insider: Wachovia Upgrades Lincoln National (LNC) to Outperform, Says Firm Can Handle Losses