Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.60.

Several research analysts have recently commented on LINC shares. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Northland Securities started coverage on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Thursday, April 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Barrington Research upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Lincoln Educational Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Lincoln Educational Services Stock Performance

Shares of LINC opened at $21.69 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $17.10 and its 200-day moving average is $16.49. Lincoln Educational Services has a 12 month low of $10.06 and a 12 month high of $22.27. The firm has a market cap of $685.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.07. Lincoln Educational Services had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $117.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.55 million. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Educational Services

In other Lincoln Educational Services news, Director James J. Burke, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $107,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 82,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,761,366.60. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 13.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Educational Services

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. Informed Momentum Co LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC now owns 48,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the period. 72.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lincoln Educational Services

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides various career-oriented post-secondary education services to high school graduates and working adults in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Campus Operations and Transitional. It offers associate's degree, and diploma and certificate programs in automotive technology; skilled trades programs, including electrical, heating and air conditioning repair, welding, computerized numerical control, and electrical and electronic systems technology; health science programs comprising licensed practical nurse, registered nurse, dental assistant, medical assistant, medical administrative assistant, and claims examiner; hospitality service and information technology programs, such as culinary, therapeutic massage, cosmetology, aesthetics, and computer systems support technicians.