Short Interest in Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN) Drops By 9.8%

Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of 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. Currently, 0.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 82,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HURN shares. 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 price target on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barrington Research raised their price objective on shares of Huron Consulting Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Huron Consulting Group Price Performance

HURN stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $124.26. 97,554 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 118,648. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Huron Consulting Group has a twelve month low of $84.26 and a twelve month high of $131.06. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $121.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.80.

Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.11. Huron Consulting Group had a return on equity of 21.51% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $370.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.63 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Huron Consulting Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Huron Consulting Group will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Huron Consulting Group

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Huron Consulting Group by 33.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,375 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in Huron Consulting Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,379,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Huron Consulting Group by 435.2% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 64,674 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,370,000 after purchasing an additional 52,589 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Huron Consulting Group by 98.0% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 53,411 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,261,000 after purchasing an additional 26,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 35.2% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,956 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by 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.