Short Interest in Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) Drops By 16.0%

Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 204,300 shares, a drop of 16.0% from the November 15th total of 243,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 104,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Lincoln Educational Services Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of LINC stock opened at $16.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.57. Lincoln Educational Services has a fifty-two week low of $8.91 and a fifty-two week high of $18.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $503.99 million, a PE ratio of 50.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.92.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Educational Services

In other Lincoln Educational Services news, EVP Chad D. Nyce sold 9,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $164,620.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 144,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,387,038.50. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 7,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.86, for a total transaction of $120,093.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 867,017 shares in the company, valued at $14,617,906.62. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 223,002 shares of company stock valued at $3,632,824. Company insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Educational Services

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 970,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,509,000 after buying an additional 50,737 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 25.4% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 768,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,119,000 after acquiring an additional 155,754 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 12.6% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 645,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,658,000 after acquiring an additional 72,400 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 636,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,598,000 after purchasing an additional 11,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 600,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,164,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the period. 72.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LINC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barrington Research increased their price target 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. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

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.