Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ: LINC) and Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitabiliy, earnings and valuation.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
62.6% of Lincoln Educational Services Corporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.2% of Grand Canyon Education shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of Lincoln Educational Services Corporation shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Grand Canyon Education shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Lincoln Educational Services Corporation and Grand Canyon Education’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Lincoln Educational Services Corporation | $191.55 million | 0.39 | $9.53 million | ($1.40) | -2.15 |
| Grand Canyon Education | $921.61 million | 4.27 | $310.30 million | $3.62 | 22.58 |
Grand Canyon Education has higher revenue and earnings than Lincoln Educational Services Corporation. Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Grand Canyon Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Lincoln Educational Services Corporation has a beta of 2.77, meaning that its share price is 177% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Grand Canyon Education has a beta of 1.48, meaning that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Lincoln Educational Services Corporation and Grand Canyon Education, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Lincoln Educational Services Corporation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Grand Canyon Education | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3.00 |
Grand Canyon Education has a consensus price target of $74.67, indicating a potential downside of 8.65%. Given Grand Canyon Education’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Grand Canyon Education is more favorable than Lincoln Educational Services Corporation.
Profitability
This table compares Lincoln Educational Services Corporation and Grand Canyon Education’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Lincoln Educational Services Corporation | -16.00% | -14.19% | -5.19% |
| Grand Canyon Education | 18.77% | 21.77% | 15.47% |
Summary
Grand Canyon Education beats Lincoln Educational Services Corporation on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Lincoln Educational Services Corporation
Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is a provider of post-secondary education. The Company operates in two segments: Transportation and Skilled Trades, and Transitional. The Transportation and Skilled Trades segment offers academic programs in the disciplines of transportation and skilled trades (automotive, diesel, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), welding and manufacturing). The Transitional segment includes operations that are being phased out and consists of its campus that is being taught out. It offers programs in automotive technology, skilled trades, which include HVAC, welding and computerized numerical control and electronic systems technology; healthcare services, which include nursing, dental assistant and pharmacy technician; hospitality services, which include culinary, therapeutic massage, cosmetology and aesthetics, and business and information technology, which includes information technology and criminal justice programs.
About Grand Canyon Education
Grand Canyon Education, Inc. is engaged in the provision of postsecondary education. The Company is a regionally accredited university. The Company offers the degrees, including Doctor of Education, Doctor of Business Administration, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Doctor of Philosophy, Education Specialist, Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, Master of Education, Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Administration, Master of Public Health, Master of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and a range of programs for its degrees. It also offers certificate programs, which consist of a series of courses focused on a particular area of study for both the post-baccalaureate and post-graduate students. The Company offers its ground-based programs to students through three 15-week semesters in a calendar year and to online students in courses that generally range from 5 to 16 weeks throughout the calendar year.
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