Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $36.42 and last traded at $35.45, with a volume of 1155961 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.04.

Key Stories Impacting Lincoln Educational Services

Here are the key news stories impacting Lincoln Educational Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Lincoln reported EPS of $0.50 vs. consensus $0.42 and revenue of $142.9M vs. $131.7M consensus, showing clear top- and bottom-line upside. Zacks Article
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger revenue outlook — management raised FY2026 revenue guidance to $580–$590M, well above Street revenue expectations, suggesting continued enrollment/scale gains. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Operational momentum & investor events — company says FY2025 results exceeded guidance, forecasts continued growth for 2026, and scheduled an Investor Day (Mar 19) tied to expansion (new Nashville campus), which could support longer-term multiple re-rating. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings detail & call available — transcript and call notes provide management commentary investors will parse for enrollment trends, margins and cadence of growth. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: EPS guidance misses — FY2026 EPS guidance of $0.64–$0.74 is below the Street consensus (~$0.81), which tempers the positive reaction from the revenue beat and raises near-term profitability concerns. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reaction mixed — at least one shop trimmed its rating to Hold and some forecasters adjusted models ahead of the print, reflecting caution around margins and the EPS outlook. Analyst Note

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LINC has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on Lincoln Educational Services from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Griffin Securities set a $38.00 price objective on Lincoln Educational Services in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Lincoln Educational Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.33.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.27, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin M. Carney sold 13,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $307,547.88. Following the sale, the director owned 24,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,574.14. This represents a 35.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in Lincoln Educational Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 246.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services during the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 72.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.