Brokerages Set Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) Target Price at $25.40

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.40.

LINC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 29th.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LINC opened at $22.28 on Friday. Lincoln Educational Services has a one year low of $14.10 and a one year high of $25.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $704.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.51, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last released 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 return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 2.86%.The firm had revenue of $141.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $129.85 million. On average, analysts predict that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kevin M. Carney sold 13,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total value of $307,547.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $550,574.14. This trade represents a 35.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LINC. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Lincoln Educational Services during the first quarter worth about $8,344,000. Cannell Capital LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 248.6% in the third quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 576,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,548,000 after buying an additional 411,111 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,449,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,066,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 293.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 389,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,989,000 after acquiring an additional 290,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,115,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,703,000 after acquiring an additional 202,170 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.23% of the company’s stock.

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.