Contrasting ADT (NYSE:ADT) & Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC)

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) and ADT (NYSE:ADT) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Lincoln Educational Services has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ADT has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

72.2% of Lincoln Educational Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.2% of ADT shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.8% of Lincoln Educational Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of ADT shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lincoln Educational Services and ADT”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lincoln Educational Services	$518.24 million	1.43	$20.00 million	$0.72	32.43
ADT	$5.13 billion	1.41	$595.95 million	$0.74	13.37

ADT has higher revenue and earnings than Lincoln Educational Services. ADT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lincoln Educational Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Lincoln Educational Services and ADT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lincoln Educational Services	3.99%	14.47%	5.76%
ADT	11.85%	18.57%	4.30%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Lincoln Educational Services and ADT, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lincoln Educational Services	0	2	4	0	2.67
ADT	0	5	2	0	2.29

Lincoln Educational Services presently has a consensus price target of $48.33, suggesting a potential upside of 106.99%. ADT has a consensus price target of $8.73, suggesting a potential downside of 11.77%. Given Lincoln Educational Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lincoln Educational Services is more favorable than ADT.

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. The company operates schools under the Lincoln Technical Institute, Lincoln College of Technology, Lincoln Culinary Institute, Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences, and other brand names. Lincoln Educational Services Corporation was founded in 1946 and is based in Parsippany, New Jersey.

About ADT

ADT Inc. provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems. It primarily offers security designed to detect intrusion, control access, sense movement, smoke, fire, carbon monoxide, flooding, temperature, and other environmental conditions and hazards; and address personal medical emergencies, such as injuries or unanticipated falls. The company also provides automation and smart home solutions that allow customers to use their smart phones, smart phone application, or touchscreen panels in their homes to arm and disarm their security systems; record and view real-time video; and creates customized and automated schedules for connected devices; programs systems to react to defined events; integrates system with third-party connected devices, such as cameras, lights, thermostats, appliances, and garage doors, as well as offers monitoring and maintenance services. In addition, the company offers energy storage solutions, energy efficiency upgrades, and roofing services. It offers its products under the ADT, ADT Pulse, ADT+, and ADT Commercial brand names. The company was formerly known as Prime Security Services Parent, Inc. and changed its name to ADT Inc. in September 2017. ADT Inc. was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.