Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after B. Riley raised their price target on the stock from $15.00 to $20.00. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the stock. Lincoln Educational Services traded as high as $16.21 and last traded at $16.20, with a volume of 325686 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.91.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on LINC. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Lincoln Educational Services from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 2,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.04, for a total transaction of $27,330.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 874,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,524,645.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,819 shares of company stock valued at $490,481. 16.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 613,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,333,000 after buying an additional 73,321 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,343,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,875,000 after buying an additional 136,334 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 645,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,658,000 after buying an additional 72,400 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Educational Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $612,000. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Educational Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $576,000. 72.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Educational Services Trading Up 8.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $509.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.41.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.07. Lincoln Educational Services had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 1.95%. The firm had revenue of $102.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.60 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Educational Services Co. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Educational Services Company Profile

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.