Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) Stock Price Down 5.7% - Time to Sell?

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 5.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $22.37 and last traded at $21.91. 26,213 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 178,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LINC. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Lincoln Educational Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barrington Research raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $24.60.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $21.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.11. The company has a market capitalization of $726.73 million, a P/E ratio of 58.99, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.07. Lincoln Educational Services had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $117.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $114.55 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Educational Services Corporation will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Educational Services

In other news, Director James J. Burke, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of Lincoln Educational Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.40, for a total transaction of $214,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 87,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,866,722. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Chad D. Nyce sold 6,200 shares of Lincoln Educational Services stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.93, for a total transaction of $142,166.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 170,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,902,892.37. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,200 shares of company stock valued at $1,172,166 over the last three months. 13.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Educational Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LINC. Militia Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 24.7% during the first quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 25,258 shares of the company's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Lincoln Educational Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 58.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 61,425 shares of the company's stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 22,643 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,648 shares of the company's stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,657 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.23% 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.