Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $104.99, but opened at $109.76. Huron Consulting Group shares last traded at $114.00, with a volume of 10,123 shares traded.

The business services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.11. Huron Consulting Group had a return on equity of 20.44% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm had revenue of $370.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HURN. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a research note on Wednesday. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 target price on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Huron Consulting Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kyle Featherstone sold 820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.07, for a total transaction of $88,617.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,129.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Kyle Featherstone sold 820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.07, for a total transaction of $88,617.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,565 shares in the company, valued at $169,129.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hugh E. Sawyer III sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total value of $312,270.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,477,550.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,168 shares of company stock valued at $1,170,515. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huron Consulting Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HURN. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Huron Consulting Group by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 922,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,994,000 after acquiring an additional 247,218 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huron Consulting Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,202,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huron Consulting Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,533,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 240.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 136,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,426,000 after buying an additional 96,308 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huron Consulting Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,614,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huron Consulting Group Stock Up 10.6 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47 and a beta of 0.61.

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.