Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 278,400 shares, an increase of 6.3% from the September 30th total of 261,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 90,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

Lincoln Educational Services stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 59,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,048. Lincoln Educational Services has a fifty-two week low of $8.40 and a fifty-two week high of $14.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.99 million, a PE ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.42.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $102.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.60 million. Lincoln Educational Services had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 1.95%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 17,031 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total transaction of $204,542.31. Following the sale, the insider now owns 935,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,240,603.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 40,819 shares of company stock valued at $490,481 over the last 90 days. 16.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LINC. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised 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 valued at $9,119,000 after purchasing an additional 155,754 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $13,875,000 after buying an additional 136,334 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Educational Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,259,000. Herr Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Herr Investment Group LLC now owns 2,355,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,335,000 after buying an additional 88,335 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 645,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,658,000 after buying an additional 72,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LINC. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Friday, September 20th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Educational Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.75.

Lincoln Educational Services Company Profile

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.