Apollo Education Group (NASDAQ: APOL) and Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) are both non-cyclical consumer goods & services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitabiliy and analyst recommendations.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Apollo Education Group and Lincoln Educational Services Corporation’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Apollo Education Group | N/A | N/A | N/A | ($0.19) | -52.61 |
| Lincoln Educational Services Corporation | $191.55 million | 0.41 | $9.53 million | ($1.40) | -2.27 |
Lincoln Educational Services Corporation has higher revenue and earnings than Apollo Education Group. Apollo Education Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
73.3% of Apollo Education Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.3% of Lincoln Educational Services Corporation shares are held by institutional investors. 4.8% of Apollo Education Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of Lincoln Educational Services Corporation shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Apollo Education Group and Lincoln Educational Services Corporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Apollo Education Group | 0.66% | 1.53% | 0.65% |
| Lincoln Educational Services Corporation | -16.00% | -14.19% | -5.19% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Apollo Education Group and Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Apollo Education Group | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Lincoln Educational Services Corporation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Volatility and Risk
Apollo Education Group has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lincoln Educational Services Corporation has a beta of 2.77, meaning that its stock price is 177% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Apollo Education Group beats Lincoln Educational Services Corporation on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Apollo Education Group
Apollo Education Group, Inc. is a United States-based education provider. The Company offers undergraduate, graduate, certificate and non-degree educational programs and services, online and on-campus, to working adults in the United States and abroad. Its segments include University of Phoenix, Apollo Global and Other. The University of Phoenix segment offers undergraduate and graduate degrees through its colleges and schools in a range of program areas, as well as various non-degree programs. Primarily, the University of Phoenix’s students attend classes online. It also offers educational programs and services at ground locations throughout the United States. The Apollo Global segment includes its institutions based outside the United States and its corporate operations. The Other segment includes College for Financial Planning Institutes Corporation; Western International University, Inc.; TIY Academy, LLC; Apollo Professional Development, and Apollo corporate activities.
About Lincoln Educational Services Corporation
Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is a provider of post-secondary education. The Company operates in two segments: Transportation and Skilled Trades, and Transitional. The Transportation and Skilled Trades segment offers academic programs in the disciplines of transportation and skilled trades (automotive, diesel, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), welding and manufacturing). The Transitional segment includes operations that are being phased out and consists of its campus that is being taught out. It offers programs in automotive technology, skilled trades, which include HVAC, welding and computerized numerical control and electronic systems technology; healthcare services, which include nursing, dental assistant and pharmacy technician; hospitality services, which include culinary, therapeutic massage, cosmetology and aesthetics, and business and information technology, which includes information technology and criminal justice programs.
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