Short Interest in Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) Expands By 22.2%

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,540,974 shares, an increase of 22.2% from the March 15th total of 1,261,147 shares. Approximately 5.6% of the company’s stock 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

Several research firms have weighed in on LINC. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on Lincoln Educational Services from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research downgraded Lincoln Educational Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Educational Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Northland Securities set a $44.00 target price on Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Griffin Securities set a $38.00 price target on Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.67.

Lincoln Educational Services Stock Performance

LINC stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $41.32. 397,758 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 459,722. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 65.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.53. Lincoln Educational Services has a 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $42.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) last posted 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $131.70 million. Lincoln Educational Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.640-0.740 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Educational Services

In other news, insider Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,938,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,139,553.37. This trade represents a 7.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sylvia Jean Young sold 7,959 shares of Lincoln Educational Services stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 12,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $454,679.57. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 458,665 shares of company stock valued at $16,061,744 over the last three months. 12.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LINC. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 24.2% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 9,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 1.9% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. 72.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.