Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) from a strong sell rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Northland Securities set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Educational Services presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $26.20.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LINC opened at $25.14 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $795.03 million, a P/E ratio of 55.87, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.99. Lincoln Educational Services has a twelve month low of $14.10 and a twelve month high of $25.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.49 and a 200 day moving average of $21.84.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. Lincoln Educational Services had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 2.86%.The firm had revenue of $141.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $129.85 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Educational Services

In related news, Director Kevin M. Carney sold 13,866 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 13.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $213,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 1.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 58.4% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 61,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 22,643 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services in the first quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 72.23% of the company’s stock.

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.