Wasatch Advisors LP Sells 237,587 Shares of Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC)

Wasatch Advisors LP decreased its position in Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) by 51.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 227,473 shares of the company’s stock after selling 237,587 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP owned 0.72% of Lincoln Educational Services worth $2,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LINC. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 155,754 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,343,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,875,000 after purchasing an additional 136,334 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 645,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,658,000 after purchasing an additional 72,400 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Educational Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $612,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 970,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,509,000 after purchasing an additional 50,737 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LINC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley lifted their price target on Lincoln Educational Services from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted 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. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their target price on Lincoln Educational Services from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

Shares of LINC stock opened at $16.43 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $517.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.35, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $13.68 and its 200 day moving average is $12.61. Lincoln Educational Services Co. has a twelve month low of $8.78 and a twelve month high of $18.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). Lincoln Educational Services had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 2.33%. The company had revenue of $114.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.05 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Lincoln Educational Services Co. will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brian K. Meyers sold 8,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.26, for a total transaction of $136,409.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 233,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,567,940.60. This represents a 3.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.62, for a total value of $997,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 605,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,055,183.10. The trade was a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 145,886 shares of company stock valued at $2,385,424. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.