Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN) Short Interest Down 9.8% in December

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

Huron Consulting Group Price Performance

Shares of HURN stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $124.26. The stock had a trading volume of 97,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,648. Huron Consulting Group has a 12 month low of $84.26 and a 12 month high of $131.06. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 27.01 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.71.

Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.11. Huron Consulting Group had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 21.51%. The business had revenue of $370.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Huron Consulting Group will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on HURN. StockNews.com raised Huron Consulting Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barrington Research raised their price target on shares of Huron Consulting Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director H Eugene Lockhart sold 1,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.82, for a total transaction of $120,684.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,219,564.36. This represents a 3.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James H. Roth sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.70, for a total value of $247,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 52,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,452.50. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,084 shares of company stock worth $752,892. Company insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huron Consulting Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HURN. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Huron Consulting Group during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Huron Consulting Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new position in Huron Consulting Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Huron Consulting Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huron Consulting Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $264,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.