Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) Short Interest Update

Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 261,800 shares, a decline of 29.2% from the September 15th total of 369,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 112,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 2,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.04, for a total value of $27,330.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 874,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,524,645.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,819 shares of company stock valued at $490,481. Company insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LINC. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $9,119,000 after acquiring an additional 155,754 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,343,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,875,000 after purchasing an additional 136,334 shares in the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Educational Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,259,000. Herr Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Herr Investment Group LLC now owns 2,355,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,335,000 after purchasing an additional 88,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 72,400 shares in the last quarter. 72.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Educational Services Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ LINC traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.04. The company had a trading volume of 33,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 110,520. 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 has a one year low of $7.88 and a one year high of $14.52. The company has a market cap of $379.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.04 and its 200-day moving average is $11.65.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $102.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.60 million. Lincoln Educational Services had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 10.38%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LINC. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Lincoln Educational Services from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Educational Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.75.

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.