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

Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN) shares hit a new 52-week high 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 the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $399.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $380.62 million. Huron Consulting Group had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 21.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Huron Consulting Group

In other news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,452.50. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director H Eugene Lockhart sold 1,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $127,968.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,756 shares in the company, valued at $3,285,904.36. The trade was a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,584 shares of company stock worth $1,067,539 over the last 90 days. 2.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huron Consulting Group

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

Huron Consulting Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.37.

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.