Next Century Growth Investors LLC Buys 31,370 Shares of Lincoln Educational Services Corporation $LINC

Key Points

• Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Educational Services by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 31,370 additional shares and bringing its total to 791,271 shares worth about $19.1 million.
• Lincoln Educational Services reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.14 versus $0.04 expected and revenue of $143.96 million, while also issuing FY 2026 guidance of $0.74 to $0.83 per share.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish: five analysts rate the stock a Buy, with a consensus target price of $54.17, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

Next Century Growth Investors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 791,271 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,370 shares during the period. Lincoln Educational Services comprises about 1.3% of Next Century Growth Investors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned approximately 2.50% of Lincoln Educational Services worth $19,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 9,641 shares of the company's stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,648 shares of the company's stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,873 shares of the company's stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steadtrust LLC raised its position in Lincoln Educational Services by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Steadtrust LLC now owns 30,340 shares of the company's stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 72.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Educational Services Price Performance

LINC stock opened at $46.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.00, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.80. Lincoln Educational Services Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.29 and a twelve month high of $53.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.10. Lincoln Educational Services had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 4.11%.The firm had revenue of $143.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.66 million. Lincoln Educational Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.740-0.830 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Educational Services Corporation will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LINC shares. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Griffin Securities set a $38.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Educational Services in a research note on Thursday. Northland Securities set a $60.00 price target on Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Educational Services

In other news, Director James J. Burke, Jr. sold 16,000 shares of Lincoln Educational Services stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.54, for a total transaction of $792,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 60,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,972,647.70. The trade was a 21.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexandra M. Luster sold 1,993 shares of Lincoln Educational Services stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.11, for a total value of $99,869.23. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 100,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,029,189.93. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,063 shares of company stock worth $3,813,624. Corporate insiders own 12.80% of the company's stock.

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.

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