Short Interest in Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) Declines By 16.0%

Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 204,300 shares, a drop of 16.0% from the November 15th total of 243,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 104,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael A. Plater sold 10,471 shares of Lincoln Educational Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.41, for a total value of $161,358.11. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,079.28. This trade represents a 24.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 61,289 shares of Lincoln Educational Services stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.19, for a total value of $992,268.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 425,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,889,557.36. The trade was a 12.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 223,002 shares of company stock valued at $3,632,824 over the last three months. Insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 970,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,509,000 after purchasing an additional 50,737 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 768,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,119,000 after acquiring an additional 155,754 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 12.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 636,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,598,000 after buying an additional 11,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 600,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,164,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.23% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Educational Services Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of LINC stock opened at $16.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.57. Lincoln Educational Services has a 52-week low of $8.91 and a 52-week high of $18.74. The company has a market capitalization of $503.99 million, a PE ratio of 50.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $14.56 and its 200 day moving average is $12.93.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $114.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.05 million. Lincoln Educational Services had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 10.60%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barrington Research upped their price target on Lincoln Educational Services from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on Lincoln Educational Services from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Educational Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

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.