Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN) saw a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 140,100 shares, a drop of 9.8% from the November 30th total of 155,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 82,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Huron Consulting Group Stock Performance

HURN stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $124.26. 97,554 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 118,648. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.71. 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 $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01 and a beta of 0.60. Huron Consulting Group has a twelve month low of $84.26 and a twelve month high of $131.06.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Huron Consulting Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barrington Research upped their price target on Huron Consulting Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five 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 an average price target of $133.00.

Insider Transactions at Huron Consulting Group

In related news, Director H Eugene Lockhart sold 1,042 shares of the firm’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 trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James H. Roth sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.42, for a total value of $256,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 54,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,040,626.50. This trade represents a 3.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,084 shares of company stock valued at $752,892 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Huron Consulting Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 121,371 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Huron Consulting Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,533,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $42,306,000 after purchasing an additional 67,239 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Huron Consulting Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,336,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 435.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 64,674 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,370,000 after buying an additional 52,589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Huron Consulting Group Company Profile

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.