Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Barrington Research raised their price target on the stock from $27.00 to $33.00. The stock had previously closed at $29.84, but opened at $31.25. Barrington Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Lincoln Educational Services shares last traded at $31.3270, with a volume of 12,022 shares traded.

A number of other analysts have also commented on LINC. Zacks Research lowered Lincoln Educational Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Northland Securities set a $28.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of 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 raised shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Griffin Securities set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kevin M. Carney sold 13,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were 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 $550,574.14. The trade was a 35.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 13.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Educational Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,682,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,535,000 after buying an additional 58,582 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,626,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,283,000 after acquiring an additional 177,018 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 4.8% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,168,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,457,000 after acquiring an additional 53,281 shares in the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,169,000 after acquiring an additional 260,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 791,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,109,000 after purchasing an additional 31,370 shares during the last quarter. 72.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Educational Services Trading Down 3.6%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.94 and its 200-day moving average is $22.69. The company has a market cap of $948.28 million, a P/E ratio of 66.65, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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.