Zacks Research Downgrades Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) to Strong Sell

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on LINC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.40.

Lincoln Educational Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LINC opened at $23.31 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.73. The company has a market cap of $737.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.80, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.00. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $14.10 and a fifty-two week high of $25.76.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.20 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 company had revenue of $141.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $129.85 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Educational Services news, Director Kevin M. Carney sold 13,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total value of $307,547.88. Following the sale, the director owned 24,823 shares in the company, valued at $550,574.14. This trade represents a 35.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 13.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LINC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,682,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,535,000 after acquiring an additional 58,582 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 26.1% in the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,449,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,066,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 4.8% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,168,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,457,000 after purchasing an additional 53,281 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 11.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 728,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,795,000 after purchasing an additional 71,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cannell Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 248.6% during the third quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 576,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,548,000 after purchasing an additional 411,111 shares during the last quarter. 72.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Educational Services Company Profile

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is a publicly traded provider of career-focused post-secondary vocational education in the United States. Operating under the Lincoln Tech and Lincoln Culinary Institute brands, the company delivers hands-on technical instruction across high-growth industries. Its mission centers on equipping students with practical skills and industry credentials designed to meet employer needs.

The company’s program offerings span automotive technology, skilled trades, health sciences, information technology, culinary arts and public safety.