Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) Sets New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $19.79 and last traded at $18.28, with a volume of 77297 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.09.

The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.11. Lincoln Educational Services had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 2.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LINC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. B. Riley raised their price target on Lincoln Educational Services from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Educational Services

In other Lincoln Educational Services news, major shareholder Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 61,289 shares of Lincoln Educational Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.19, for a total transaction of $992,268.91. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 425,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,889,557.36. The trade was a 12.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 137,116 shares of company stock worth $2,244,600 in the last three months. Insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LINC. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,123,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,768,000 after purchasing an additional 338,495 shares in the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 71.4% in the third quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 600,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,164,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 485.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 295,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,667,000 after purchasing an additional 244,657 shares in the last quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 664,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,507,000 after purchasing an additional 100,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dauntless Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,345,000. 72.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Educational Services Trading Up 7.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.11 and a 200-day moving average of $14.37. The firm has a market cap of $542.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.41.

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.