Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,261,147 shares, a growth of 56.0% from the February 26th total of 808,506 shares. Currently, 4.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 480,286 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LINC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Northland Securities set a $36.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Griffin Securities set a $38.00 price objective on Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their target price on Lincoln Educational Services from $35.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Educational Services has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.33.

Lincoln Educational Services Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ LINC traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.91. 395,139 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 544,666. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.78. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.91. Lincoln Educational Services has a 52-week low of $14.84 and a 52-week high of $42.42.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS 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 firm 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. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln Educational Services news, Director Sylvia Jean Young sold 7,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.81, for a total value of $285,011.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $454,679.57. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total transaction of $5,350,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,938,311 shares in the company, valued at $69,139,553.37. The trade was a 7.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 458,665 shares of company stock valued at $16,061,744 in the last three months. 16.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Educational Services

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 44,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 8,057 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 275.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 178,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,320,000 after purchasing an additional 131,192 shares in the last quarter. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Educational Services during the 4th quarter worth $17,028,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 588,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,213,000 after buying an additional 92,800 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 1,084.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 208,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,045,000 after buying an additional 191,270 shares in the last quarter. 72.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.