Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.40.

LINC has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin M. Carney sold 13,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total value of $307,547.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,823 shares in the company, valued at $550,574.14. This trade represents a 35.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cannell Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 248.6% during the third quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 576,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,548,000 after buying an additional 411,111 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,449,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,066,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 293.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 389,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,989,000 after purchasing an additional 290,935 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,115,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,703,000 after purchasing an additional 202,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 894.7% during the 2nd quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 170,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 153,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.23% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

Lincoln Educational Services stock opened at $24.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $785.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.22, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.00. Lincoln Educational Services has a 52-week low of $14.10 and a 52-week high of $25.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.68.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $141.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.85 million. Lincoln Educational Services had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 12.20%. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

About Lincoln Educational Services

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is a publicly traded provider of career-focused post-secondary vocational education in the United States. Operating under the Lincoln Tech and Lincoln Culinary Institute brands, the company delivers hands-on technical instruction across high-growth industries. Its mission centers on equipping students with practical skills and industry credentials designed to meet employer needs.

The company’s program offerings span automotive technology, skilled trades, health sciences, information technology, culinary arts and public safety.