Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

LINC has been the topic of several other research reports. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.75.

Lincoln Educational Services Stock Performance

Shares of LINC traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 86,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,857. Lincoln Educational Services has a 1-year low of $7.88 and a 1-year high of $14.52. The stock has a market cap of $358.78 million, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $102.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.60 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 2,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.04, for a total transaction of $27,330.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 874,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,524,645.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,819 shares of company stock valued at $490,481. Corporate insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Educational Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 539,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,419,000 after acquiring an additional 65,982 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 136,334 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Educational Services in the second quarter worth $612,000. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services during the second quarter valued at $576,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 1,513.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 8,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 8,067 shares during the last quarter. 72.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.