Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN - Get Free Report) 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 trading hands.

The business services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.10. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HURN shares. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $137.00 target price on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Huron Consulting Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huron Consulting Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.75.

Insider Transactions at Huron Consulting Group

In other Huron Consulting Group news, insider Kyle Featherstone sold 820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.07, for a total value of $88,617.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,129.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director H Eugene Lockhart sold 1,042 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.27, for a total value of $112,817.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,122,506.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kyle Featherstone sold 820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.07, for a total transaction of $88,617.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $169,129.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,168 shares of company stock valued at $1,170,515 in the last 90 days. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huron Consulting Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners boosted its position in Huron Consulting Group by 36.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 922,254 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $88,994,000 after acquiring an additional 247,218 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Huron Consulting Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,202,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huron Consulting Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,533,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 240.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 136,307 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,426,000 after purchasing an additional 96,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huron Consulting Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,614,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Huron Consulting Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $107.06 and a 200 day moving average of $100.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

About Huron Consulting Group

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.