Dj Cfo Meyers Registers 23384 Of Lincoln Educational Services Corp >Linc

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC) could be a solid choice for investors given the company's remarkably improving earnings outlook. While the stock has been a strong performer lately, this trend might continue since analysts are still raising their earnings estimates for the company.

The upward trend in estimate revisions for this company reflects growing optimism of analysts on its earnings prospects, which should get reflected in its stock price. After all, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements. Our stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- has this insight at its core.

The five-grade Zacks Rank system, which ranges from a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record of outperformance, with Zacks #1 Ranked stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 2008.

For Lincoln Educational Services, there has been strong agreement among the covering analysts in raising earnings estimates, which has helped push consensus estimates considerably higher for the next quarter and full year.

Current-Quarter Estimate Revisions

The earnings estimate of $0.29 per share for the current quarter represents a change of -9.38% from the number reported a year ago.

Over the last 30 days, one estimate has moved higher for Lincoln Educational Services compared to no negative revisions. As a result, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased 16%.

Current-Year Estimate Revisions

For the full year, the earnings estimate of $0.54 per share represents a change of +10.2% from the year-ago number.

There has been an encouraging trend in estimate revisions for the current year as well. Over the past month, one estimate has moved up for Lincoln Educational Services versus no negative revisions. This has pushed the consensus estimate 5.88% higher.

Favorable Zacks Rank

The promising estimate revisions have helped Lincoln Educational Services earn a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank is a tried-and-tested rating tool that helps investors effectively harness the power of earnings estimate revisions and make the right investment decision. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Our research shows that stocks with Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and 2 (Buy) significantly outperform the S&P 500.

Bottom Line

Lincoln Educational Services shares have added 35.3% over the past four weeks, suggesting that investors are betting on its impressive estimate revisions. So, you may consider adding it to your portfolio right away to benefit from its earnings growth prospects.

Zacks Investment Research

American Public Education, Inc.’s APEI stock plunged 7.6% in the after-hour trading session after it reported mixed results for third-quarter 2024. Its earnings handily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved from the previous year.

Revenues missed the analysts’ expectations but increased year over year on the back of contributions from the American Public University System (“APUS”), Hondros College of Nursing (“HCN”) and Rasmussen University ("RU") segments. Yet, lower revenues from Graduate School ("GSUSA") partially offset the growth.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

APEI has been benefiting from consistent enrollment growth at APUS and HCN, along with improvement at RU, which saw its first enrollment growth in the third quarter since the acquisition of the business. The company expects to witness continued momentum across the segments in the fourth quarter.

Delving Deeper

APEI reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 4 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 cent by 300% and increasing 100% from 2 cents reported a year ago.

American Public Education, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

American Public Education, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | American Public Education, Inc. Quote

Total revenues of $153.1 million missed the consensus mark of $153.6 million by 0.3% but grew 1.5% from the year-ago period on strong segmental results.

Total costs and expenses increased 3.2% year over year to $149 million. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 28.7% year over year to $12.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 8% contracted from 12% year over year.

Segment Discussion

APUS: Revenues of $77 million grew 0.8% from the year-ago period’s levels of $76.4 million. APUS has delivered consistent year-over-year growth in net course registrations driven by modest increases in registrations and targeted tuition and fees.

APUS’ total net course registration inched up 0.2% from the year-ago period to 92,500. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 29% contracted from 30% year over year.

RU: The segment reported revenues of $52.6 million for the quarter, up 1% from a year ago. The increase was primarily due to an increase in tuition rates effective in the first quarters of 2023 and 2024 for select programs. This was partially offset by a change in the mix of total student enrollment, resulting in a 6.3% decrease in on-ground enrollment, partially offset by a 4.2% increase in online enrollment, which has a lower revenue per student compared with the prior-year period.

RU’s total student enrollment remained flat year over year to 13,500. On-ground enrollment was 6,000, and online enrollment was 7,500 students. Adjusted EBITDA margin of negative 9% narrowed from negative 10% reported in the prior-year quarter.

HCN: The segment’s revenues rose 12.8% year over year to $15.5 million, backed by solid growth in tuition. Total student enrollment at HCN increased 10.4% from the prior-year quarter’s levels to 3,100. Adjusted EBITDA margin was negative 2%, flat year over year.

Corporate and other: It includes tuition and contract training revenues earned by GSUSA and eliminates intersegment revenues for courses taken by employees of one segment at other segments. The segment’s revenues decreased 14% year over year to $8.04 million impacted by government spending uncertainty. GSUSA revenues fell 6.3% year over year.

Adjusted EBITDA margin came in at negative 100% against 18% a year ago.

Financials

At the end of the third quarter, American Public had total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $162.2 million, up from $144.3 million at 2023-end.

Q4 Guidance

APEI expects total revenues to increase 4-8% year over year to $159-$164 million. It anticipates EPS between 47 cents and 56 cents, down 13-26% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be within $23-$26 million, reflecting a decline of 10% to a growth of 2% year over year.

APUS’ total net course registrations are likely to be 94,400-96,100, reflecting 4-6% growth year over year. HCN’s total enrollment is expected to increase 19% from the prior-year figure to 3,700 students.

RU’s student enrollment is expected to be up 4% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of 14,600. On-ground student enrollment is likely to decline 3% to 6,300, while Online student enrollment is expected to rise 9% year over year to 8,300.

2024 Guidance Updated

APEI has reduced the upper limit of the previously guided range for total revenues to $620-$625 million from $620-$630 million. This reflects growth of 3-4% compared with previous range of 3-5% year over year.

The company has also narrowed its adjusted EBITDA guidance to $64-$67 million (compared with the prior projection of $60-$70 million), reflecting 7-12% growth (compared with the prior expectation of 1-17%) year over year.

Capital expenditures are now expected to be in the range of $19-$22 million, up from $17-$20 million expected earlier. The new range reflects 37-58% growth compared with 22-44% expected earlier.

Zacks Rank & Peer Releases

APEI currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation LINC reported mixed results for third-quarter 2024. Its earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but revenues topped the same.

Nonetheless, both metrics increased year over year, driven by a 10.6% increase in the average student population. This uptick resulted from four consecutive quarters of double-digit start growth and the recently opened East Point, GA campus, which generated $3.4 million in revenues in the third quarter.

Strategic Education, Inc. STRA, or SEI, reported impressive results for third-quarter 2024. Its quarterly earnings and revenues topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased year over year.

The company witnessed strong employer affiliated enrollment in the U.S. Higher Education segment, strong growth from Sophia subscriptions in the Education Technology Services segment and another quarter of total enrollment growth in the Australia/New Zealand segment.

Adtalem Global Education Inc. ATGE posted better-than-expected results in first-quarter fiscal 2025. Earnings and revenues surpassed their respective Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased year over year, given strong enrollment growth and strategic initiatives.

ATGE raised its fiscal 2025 guidance, projecting revenues between $1.69 billion and $1.73 billion, reflecting confidence in sustained growth momentum.

Zacks Investment Research

While "the trend is your friend" when it comes to short-term investing or trading, timing entries into the trend is a key determinant of success. And increasing the odds of success by making sure the sustainability of a trend isn't easy.

Often, the direction of a stock's price movement reverses quickly after taking a position in it, making investors incur a short-term capital loss. So, it's important to ensure that there are enough factors -- such as sound fundamentals, positive earnings estimate revisions, etc. -- that could keep the momentum in the stock going.

Investors looking to make a profit from stocks that are currently on the move may find our "Recent Price Strength" screen pretty useful. This predefined screen comes handy in spotting stocks that are on an uptrend backed by strength in their fundamentals, and trading in the upper portion of their 52-week high-low range, which is usually an indicator of bullishness.

There are several stocks that passed through the screen and

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation

(LINC) is one of them. Here are the key reasons why this stock is a solid choice for "trend" investing.

A solid price increase over a period of 12 weeks reflects investors' continued willingness to pay more for the potential upside in a stock. LINC is quite a good fit in this regard, gaining 44.3% over this period.

However, it's not enough to look at the price change for around three months, as it doesn't reflect any trend reversal that might have happened in a shorter time frame. It's important for a potential winner to maintain the price trend. A price increase of 35.3% over the past four weeks ensures that the trend is still in place for the stock of this company.

Moreover, LINC is currently trading at 81.5% of its 52-week High-Low Range, hinting that it can be on the verge of a breakout.

Looking at the fundamentals, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which means it is in the top 20% of more than the 4,000 stocks that we rank based on trends in earnings estimate revisions and EPS surprises -- the key factors that impact a stock's near-term price movements.

The Zacks Rank stock-rating system, which uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record, with Zacks Rank #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here

Another factor that confirms the company's fundamental strength is its Average Broker Recommendation of #1 (Strong Buy). This indicates that the brokerage community is highly optimistic about the stock's near-term price performance.

So, the price trend in LINC may not reverse anytime soon.

In addition to LINC, there are several other stocks that currently pass through our "Recent Price Strength" screen. You may consider investing in them and start looking for the newest stocks that fit these criteria.

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Zacks Investment Research

Perdoceo Education Corporation PRDO posted better-than-expected results in third-quarter 2024, with earnings and revenues surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

However, on a year-over-year basis, both metrics declined due to the lagging impact of 2023 operational changes at the American InterContinental University System (“AIUS”) and the simplification of professional development offerings at Colorado Technical University (“CTU”).

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Following the results, the company’s shares rose 7.4% in yesterday’s after-hours trading session. Positive Investor sentiments were witnessed as the company increased its 2024 guidance for adjusted operating income and adjusted earnings.

The company reported strong operating performance for the quarter, with both academic institutions showing solid student retention and engagement. Perdoceo remains focused on investing in student support resources and technology to enhance academic outcomes. The acquisition of the University of St. Augustine is on track to close in December, positioning the company to expand significantly in the health sciences sector and to serve a greater number of students.

PRDO’s Q3 Earnings & Revenue Discussion

Adjusted earnings of 59 cents per share surpassed the consensus mark of 53 cents by 11.3%, but decreased 7.8% from 64 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Perdoceo Education Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Perdoceo Education Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Perdoceo Education Corporation Quote

Revenues of $169.8 million beat the consensus mark of $164.6 million by 3.2%, but decreased 5.6% year over year.

As of Sept. 30, 2024, enrollment of total students rose 11% year over year to 40,400. Student enrollments under CTU and AIUS segments increased 13.6% and 4% year over year to 30,000 and 10,400, respectively.

In the quarter, adjusted operating income increased 2.8% from the prior-year quarter’s level to $48.6 million.

PRDO’s Segment Details

CTU: Revenues in this segment were down 4% from the year-ago quarter’s level, totaling $115.7 million.

Operating income increased 28.1% from the prior-year quarter’s level to $44.2 million. Operating margin expanded 960 basis points (bps) year over year to 38.2%.

AIUS: The segment generated revenues of $53.9 million, down 9% year over year.

Operating income was $9.1 million, down 41.9% year over year. Operating margin contracted 950 bps year over year to 16.8%.

PRDO’s Liquidity & Cash Flow

As of Sept. 30, 2024, Perdoceo had cash and cash equivalents of $238 million, up from $118 million at the end of 2023.

Net cash provided by operations was $144 million in the first nine months of 2024, up from $98.8 million a year ago.

Q4 Guidance of PRDO

In fourth-quarter 2024, the company expects adjusted operating income to be within $39-$42 million, up from $19.4 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of 46 cents to 49 cents compared with 27 cents in the year-ago quarter.

PRDO’s 2024 Guidance Raised

For 2024, PRDO now expects adjusted operating income within $188-$191 million (compared with $179-$190 million expected earlier), up from $174.9 million in 2023.

It now expects adjusted earnings of $2.25 to $2.28 per share compared with $2.13-$2.25 of earlier projection. The estimated figure indicates an increase from $2.10 per share reported in 2023

PRDO’s Zacks Rank & Peer Releases

Perdoceo currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Adtalem Global Education Inc. ATGE posted better-than-expected results in first-quarter fiscal 2025. Earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased year over year, given strong enrollment growth and strategic initiatives.

The company raised its fiscal 2025 guidance, expecting revenues between $1.69 billion and $1.73 billion, indicating confidence in sustained growth momentum.

Strategic Education, Inc. STRA reported impressive results for third-quarter 2024. Its quarterly earnings and revenues topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased year over year.

The company witnessed strong employer-affiliated enrollment in the U.S. Higher Education segment, strong growth from Sophia subscriptions in the Education Technology Services segment and another quarter of total enrollment growth in the Australia/New Zealand segment.

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation LINC reported mixed results for third-quarter 2024. Its earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but revenues topped the same.

Nonetheless, both metrics increased year over year, driven by a 10.6% increase in the average student population. This uptick resulted from four consecutive quarters of double-digit start growth and the recently opened East Point, GA campus, which generated $3.4 million in revenues in the third quarter.

Zacks Investment Research