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

B. Riley upgraded shares of Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on LINC. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $21.00.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

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

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $119.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.50 million. Lincoln Educational Services had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 10.60%. Equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Educational Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,418,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,444,000 after buying an additional 14,772 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake 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 worth $17,768,000 after acquiring an additional 338,495 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,071,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,952,000 after purchasing an additional 51,430 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 833,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,180,000 after acquiring an additional 41,442 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 690,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,922,000 after purchasing an additional 42,000 shares in the last quarter. 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.