Baillie Gifford & Co. Trims Position in FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:FCN)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in FTI Consulting by 77.9%, selling 23,764 shares and leaving them with 6,729 shares, valued at approximately $1.1 million.
• FTI Consulting announced a $400 million share buyback plan, indicating that its leadership believes the shares are undervalued.
• FTI Consulting reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, but experienced a 0.6% revenue decline year-over-year.

Baillie Gifford & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:FCN - Free Report) by 77.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,729 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 23,764 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in FTI Consulting were worth $1,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FCN. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in FTI Consulting by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 181 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in FTI Consulting by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in FTI Consulting by 65.3% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 205 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in FTI Consulting by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in FTI Consulting by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,504 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 99.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial cut FTI Consulting from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of FTI Consulting in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of FTI Consulting from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd.

Insider Activity

In other FTI Consulting news, CFO Ajay Sabherwal sold 5,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.60, for a total transaction of $861,845.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 24,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,078,294.20. This represents a 17.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

FTI Consulting Price Performance

FCN traded up $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $170.99. 206,209 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 375,223. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 2.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07 and a beta of 0.19. FTI Consulting, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.75 and a 1 year high of $231.65. The business's 50 day moving average price is $164.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.69.

FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.26. FTI Consulting had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $943.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that FTI Consulting, Inc. will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

FTI Consulting announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 6.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

FTI Consulting Profile

FTI Consulting, Inc provides business advisory services to manage change, mitigate risk, and resolve disputes worldwide. The company operates through Corporate Finance & Restructuring, Forensic and Litigation Consulting, Economic Consulting, Technology, and Strategic Communications segments. The Corporate Finance & Restructuring segment provides business transformation and strategy, transactions, and turnaround and restructuring services.