Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at B. Riley

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) was upgraded by equities researchers at B. Riley to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $21.00.

Lincoln Educational Services Stock Down 1.8 %

Lincoln Educational Services stock opened at $15.71 on Thursday. Lincoln Educational Services has a fifty-two week low of $9.51 and a fifty-two week high of $19.79. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $496.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.10, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.07.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $119.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.50 million. Lincoln Educational Services had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 10.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Educational Services

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LINC. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 156.4% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services during the 4th quarter worth about $101,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services during the 4th quarter worth about $135,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services in the third quarter valued at about $144,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.23% of the company’s stock.

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.