Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) Short Interest Update

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 808,506 shares, a decline of 14.1% from the February 12th total of 941,609 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 715,553 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 715,553 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on LINC. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $27.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln Educational Services news, insider Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 275,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.55, for a total transaction of $9,501,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,088,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,151,145.05. This represents a 11.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sylvia Jean Young sold 7,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.81, for a total value of $285,011.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $454,679.57. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 458,665 shares of company stock worth $16,061,744. 16.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Educational Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Educational Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 1.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 11.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 728,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,795,000 after buying an additional 71,973 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.23% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

LINC stock traded up $2.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.51. The stock had a trading volume of 877,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 453,830. Lincoln Educational Services has a 52-week low of $14.81 and a 52-week high of $39.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.48. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.91.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $142.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.70 million. Lincoln Educational Services had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.24%. Lincoln Educational Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.640-0.740 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Lincoln Educational Services

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is a publicly traded provider of career-focused post-secondary vocational education in the United States. Operating under the Lincoln Tech and Lincoln Culinary Institute brands, the company delivers hands-on technical instruction across high-growth industries. Its mission centers on equipping students with practical skills and industry credentials designed to meet employer needs.

The company’s program offerings span automotive technology, skilled trades, health sciences, information technology, culinary arts and public safety.