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

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) saw a significant growth in short interest in 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. Based on an average trading volume of 480,286 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 4.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $285,011.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $454,679.57. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 150,000 shares of Lincoln Educational Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total transaction of $5,350,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,938,311 shares in the company, valued at $69,139,553.37. This trade represents a 7.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 458,665 shares of company stock worth $16,061,744. 13.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Educational Services

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Educational Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,028,000. Cannell Capital LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 248.6% in the third quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 576,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,548,000 after buying an additional 411,111 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,449,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,066,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 293.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 389,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,989,000 after purchasing an additional 290,935 shares during the period. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,169,000 after purchasing an additional 260,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.23% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

Shares of LINC stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 395,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,859. Lincoln Educational Services has a fifty-two week low of $14.84 and a fifty-two week high of $42.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.94, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.92.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $142.87 million during 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on LINC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $35.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Northland Securities set a $36.00 price objective on Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $42.33.

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.