UPDATE 1-Lincoln Educational Q3 tops market, raises '09 view

* Q3 shr $0.50 vs est $0.39

* Raises 2009 outlook

* Sees to enter 2010 with 7,000 more students

Nov 3 (Reuters) - For-profit education provider Lincoln Educational Services Corp (LINC.O) posted better-than-expected quarterly profits, helped by a 40 percent rise in average student population, and forecast a solid fourth quarter.

"We expect a strong fourth quarter and believe we will begin 2010 with approximately 7,000 more students than we had in 2009, positioning us well for 2010," it said in a statement.

The company posted third-quarter profits of $13.7 million, or 50 cents a share, compared with $5.7 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 48 percent to $148.4 million.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 39 cents a share, on revenue of $141.25 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Lincoln said it now expects 2009 profits to range between $1.65 a share and $1.70 a share, on revenue of $545 million to $548 million.

It had previously forecast 2009 earnings of $1.40 to $1.45 a share, on revenue of $518 million to $525 million.

Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.49 a share, on revenue of $531.9 million.

Shares of the company closed at $20.23 Wednesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Amulya Nagaraj in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)