Barrington Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) Stock

Key Points

• Barrington Research increased Huron Consulting Group's price target from $173.00 to $176.00, indicating a potential upside of 35.05% from its current stock price.
• Despite the upgraded forecast, Wall Street Zen lowered its rating for Huron Consulting Group from "buy" to "hold," resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts.
• Huron Consulting Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.89, surpassing estimates by $0.10, with revenue growth of 8.3% year-over-year.

Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Barrington Research from $173.00 to $176.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Barrington Research's price objective points to a potential upside of 35.05% from the stock's current price.

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Huron Consulting Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.50.

Huron Consulting Group Stock Performance

HURN stock traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $130.33. 77,649 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 204,777. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $135.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.34. Huron Consulting Group has a 52 week low of $101.84 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72 and a beta of 0.26.

Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $402.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.67 million. Huron Consulting Group had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Huron Consulting Group will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joy Brown sold 668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.74, for a total transaction of $100,026.32. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,332,087.04. The trade was a 6.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director H Eugene Lockhart sold 1,040 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.74, for a total value of $142,209.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,116,071.88. This represents a 11.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,708 shares of company stock worth $375,161. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huron Consulting Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,838 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 6.9% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Huron Consulting Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,039 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Huron Consulting Group by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 569 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Huron Consulting Group by 55.9% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 407 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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