Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

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

LINC has been the topic of several other research reports. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on Lincoln Educational Services from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Griffin Securities set a $33.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $29.00.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

Shares of LINC stock opened at $27.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.40. Lincoln Educational Services has a 12 month low of $14.10 and a 12 month high of $28.22. The company has a market capitalization of $863.23 million, a PE ratio of 60.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin M. Carney sold 13,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $307,547.88. Following the sale, the director owned 24,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $550,574.14. This represents a 35.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 13.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LINC. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 18,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 7,135 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 23,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 331.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 7,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 9,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. 72.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.