Yahoo Finance Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) shareholders have earned a 29% CAGR over the last five years
The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put in. But on the bright side, you can make far more than 100% on a really good stock. For instance, the price of Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) stock is up an impressive 261% over the last five years. We note the stock price is up 2.3% in the last seven days.
So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.
Check out our latest analysis for Lincoln Educational Services
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.
During the last half decade, Lincoln Educational Services became profitable. Sometimes, the start of profitability is a major inflection point that can signal fast earnings growth to come, which in turn justifies very strong share price gains. Given that the company made a profit three years ago, but not five years ago, it is worth looking at the share price returns over the last three years, too. Indeed, the Lincoln Educational Services share price has gained 81% in three years. In the same period, EPS is up 10% per year. Notably, the EPS growth has been slower than the annualised share price gain of 22% over three years. So one can reasonably conclude the market is more enthusiastic about the stock than it was three years ago.
The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).
Dive deeper into Lincoln Educational Services' key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Lincoln Educational Services's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
A Different Perspective
It's good to see that Lincoln Educational Services has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 33% in the last twelve months. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 29% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Lincoln Educational Services better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Lincoln Educational Services you should be aware of.
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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