Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Seven analysts give Lincoln an average recommendation of Buy (five Buy, one Hold, one Strong Buy) with a 12‑month consensus price target of about $42.33.
• Lincoln beat Q4 estimates with $0.50 EPS vs. $0.42 expected and revenue of $142.87M vs. $131.7M, and issued FY2026 EPS guidance of 0.640–0.740.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently (458,665 shares sold, ~$16M over three months, including a 150,000‑share sale by Juniper), while institutional/hedge funds own roughly 72% of the stock.

Shares of Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.3333.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Educational Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Lincoln Educational Services from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Griffin Securities set a $38.00 target price on Lincoln Educational Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research cut Lincoln Educational Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Lincoln Educational Services from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th.

Lincoln Educational Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LINC opened at $40.42 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.90. Lincoln Educational Services has a 52-week low of $15.79 and a 52-week high of $42.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 64.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.83.

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (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 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. Analysts forecast that Lincoln Educational Services will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Juniper Investment Company, Ll sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sylvia Jean Young sold 7,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.81, for a total value of $285,011.79. Following the sale, the director owned 12,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $454,679.57. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 458,665 shares of company stock worth $16,061,744. Company insiders own 13.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Educational Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 3.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,682,345 shares of the company's stock worth $39,535,000 after buying an additional 58,582 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,626,623 shares of the company's stock worth $39,283,000 after buying an additional 177,018 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 4.8% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,168,375 shares of the company's stock worth $27,457,000 after buying an additional 53,281 shares in the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,000 shares of the company's stock worth $27,169,000 after buying an additional 260,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 791,271 shares of the company's stock worth $19,109,000 after buying an additional 31,370 shares in the last quarter. 72.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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