Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) Reaches New 52-Week High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $153.77 and last traded at $148.92, with a volume of 112979 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $125.33.

The business services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.38. Huron Consulting Group had a return on equity of 21.51% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $399.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.62 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HURN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barrington Research lifted their target price on Huron Consulting Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Huron Consulting Group from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Huron Consulting Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huron Consulting Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.50.

Insider Activity

In other Huron Consulting Group news, Director James H. Roth sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.70, for a total transaction of $247,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director H Eugene Lockhart sold 1,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $127,968.02. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,584 shares of company stock worth $1,067,539 over the last 90 days. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huron Consulting Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HURN. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huron Consulting Group in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Huron Consulting Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,059,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Huron Consulting Group by 355.5% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 17,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,218,000 after buying an additional 13,934 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Huron Consulting Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Huron Consulting Group Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $125.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.37. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12 and a beta of 0.59.

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.