Needham Investment Management LLC Acquires 250,000 Shares of Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC)

Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services Co. (NASDAQ:LINC) by 71.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 600,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Educational Services were worth $7,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Educational Services during the third quarter worth $121,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Lincoln Educational Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $123,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Educational Services in the third quarter worth about $144,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 10,095 shares during the last quarter. 72.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LINC shares. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research upped their price objective on Lincoln Educational Services from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Lincoln Educational Services from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.00.

Lincoln Educational Services Stock Down 1.2 %

LINC stock traded down $0.19 on Tuesday, hitting $16.29. 12,851 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 110,075. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $512.81 million, a P/E ratio of 51.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.65. Lincoln Educational Services Co. has a 12-month low of $8.78 and a 12-month high of $18.74.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $114.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Educational Services Co. will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Educational Services

In other news, Director Michael A. Plater sold 10,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.41, for a total value of $161,358.11. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,608 shares in the company, valued at $487,079.28. This represents a 24.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 7,123 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 867,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,617,906.62. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 145,886 shares of company stock worth $2,385,424 over the last quarter. Insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

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.