Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) Lifted to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

JLL has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Jones Lang LaSalle in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $246.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Jones Lang LaSalle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Jones Lang LaSalle from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Jones Lang LaSalle from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a peer perform rating on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Jones Lang LaSalle Price Performance

JLL stock opened at $225.82 on Wednesday. Jones Lang LaSalle has a 1 year low of $119.46 and a 1 year high of $226.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $202.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.68. The firm has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31 and a beta of 1.38.

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.93. Jones Lang LaSalle had a return on equity of 6.55% and a net margin of 1.42%. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Jones Lang LaSalle’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Jones Lang LaSalle will post 12.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Jones Lang LaSalle by 27.3% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,072,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,235,000 after purchasing an additional 443,992 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Jones Lang LaSalle by 2.1% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,673,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,260,000 after purchasing an additional 35,004 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Jones Lang LaSalle by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,426,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,512,000 after purchasing an additional 142,887 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in Jones Lang LaSalle by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 710,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,142,000 after purchasing an additional 120,105 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Jones Lang LaSalle by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 589,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,270,000 after purchasing an additional 270,404 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Jones Lang LaSalle

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated operates as a commercial real estate and investment management company. It engages in the buying, building, occupying, managing, and investing in a commercial, industrial, hotel, residential, and retail properties in Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific.