StockNews.com Upgrades Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) to “Strong-Buy”

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on JLL. TheStreet raised Jones Lang LaSalle from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $246.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James raised Jones Lang LaSalle from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $218.00 to $246.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $206.00.

Jones Lang LaSalle Price Performance

JLL stock traded down $0.75 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $190.39. 437,557 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 275,073. Jones Lang LaSalle has a 52-week low of $119.46 and a 52-week high of $200.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.86 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $186.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.88.

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. Jones Lang LaSalle had a return on equity of 5.74% and a net margin of 1.09%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Jones Lang LaSalle will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Jones Lang LaSalle

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of 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. Ariel Investments LLC grew its holdings in Jones Lang LaSalle by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,574,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,259,000 after buying an additional 53,883 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,426,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $269,512,000 after acquiring an additional 142,887 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 8.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 818,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,506,000 after acquiring an additional 66,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.