Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) Short Interest Up 22.2% in March

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,540,974 shares, a growth of 22.2% from the March 15th total of 1,261,147 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 585,340 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on LINC shares. Griffin Securities set a $38.00 price target on Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Barrington Research increased their price objective on Lincoln Educational Services from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on Lincoln Educational Services from $35.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Lincoln Educational Services from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.67.

Lincoln Educational Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ LINC traded up $0.63 on Friday, hitting $41.95. 698,590 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 400,577. The business’s fifty day moving average is $36.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.75. Lincoln Educational Services has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $42.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.59, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sylvia Jean Young sold 7,959 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.81, for a total transaction of $285,011.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $454,679.57. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total value of $5,350,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,938,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,139,553.37. The trade was a 7.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 458,665 shares of company stock valued at $16,061,744. Insiders own 12.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Educational Services

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services in the third quarter worth $35,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings 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 period. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services in the first quarter worth $48,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services in the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services in the third quarter worth $54,000. 72.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Educational Services Company Profile

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.