Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) just released its quarterly report and things are looking bullish. It was overall a positive result, with revenues beating expectations by 4.5% to hit US$159m. Lincoln Educational Services reported statutory earnings per share (EPS) US$0.15, which was a notable 17% above what the analysts had forecast. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.
Following the latest results, Lincoln Educational Services' five analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$651.4m in 2027. This would be a notable 11% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to surge 38% to US$1.06. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$647.9m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.05 in 2027. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.
See our latest analysis for Lincoln Educational Services
The consensus price target fell 8.4% to US$43.40, suggesting that the analysts might have been a bit enthusiastic in their previous valuation - or they were expecting the company to provide stronger guidance in the quarterly results. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. There are some variant perceptions on Lincoln Educational Services, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$50.00 and the most bearish at US$37.00 per share. With such a narrow range of valuations, the analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth.
Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that Lincoln Educational Services' revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 8.4% annualised growth rate until the end of 2027 being well below the historical 12% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 6.6% annually. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Lincoln Educational Services is also expected to grow faster than the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of Lincoln Educational Services' future valuation.
With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Lincoln Educational Services. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have estimates - from multiple Lincoln Educational Services analysts - going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.
You can also view our analysis of Lincoln Educational Services' balance sheet, and whether we think Lincoln Educational Services is carrying too much debt, for free on our platform here.
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