Student population growth - Revenue growth was primarily driven by a 14.5% increase in average student population, with the remainder attributable to tuition increases.
Enrollment trends - Student start growth slowed to 1% in Q2 as fewer enrolled students attended the first day of class and changes in student decision-making affected conversion from enrollment to start.
Costs from new campuses - Higher educational and administrative expenses were driven by a larger student population and increased costs related to new campuses in Houston, Hicksville, and Rowlett.
Q2 results and guidance
US career education provider's Q2 revenue rose 22%, beating analyst expectations.
The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 6 "strong buy" or "buy", no "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell".
The average consensus recommendation for the professional & business education peer group is "buy".
Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Lincoln Educational Services Corp is $58.00, about 41.5% above its August 7 closing price of $40.99.
The stock recently traded at 43 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 49 three months ago.
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