Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $132.95 and last traded at $131.44, with a volume of 45577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Huron Consulting Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of Huron Consulting Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huron Consulting Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

Huron Consulting Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $124.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56 and a beta of 0.60.

Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $370.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.63 million. Huron Consulting Group had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 21.51%. Huron Consulting Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Huron Consulting Group Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Huron Consulting Group

In related news, Director H Eugene Lockhart sold 1,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $127,968.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,285,904.36. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James H. Roth sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.70, for a total value of $247,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 52,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,452.50. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,542 shares of company stock worth $941,913. Corporate insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huron Consulting Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HURN. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 131.9% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 7,858 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Huron Consulting Group by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 538,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,512,000 after buying an additional 121,371 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Huron Consulting Group by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 395,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,306,000 after buying an additional 67,239 shares during the last quarter. Atom Investors LP bought a new position in shares of Huron Consulting Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,159,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 18,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after buying an additional 4,576 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

About Huron Consulting Group

Huron Consulting Group Inc, a professional services firm, provides consultancy services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Healthcare, Education, and Commercial. The Healthcare segment provides financial and operational performance improvement consulting services; digital offerings, spanning technology and analytic-related services; software products; organizational transformation services; revenue cycle managed and outsourcing services; financial and capital advisory consulting services; and strategy and innovation consulting services to national and regional health systems, academic and community health systems, federal health system, public, children’s and critical access hospitals, physician practices and medical groups, payors, and long-term care or post-acute providers.