SunTrust Banks Boosts Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) Price Target to $80.00

Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at SunTrust Banks from $74.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued on Monday, BenzingaRatingsTable reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. SunTrust Banks’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.96% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on HURN. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on Huron Consulting Group from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. cut Huron Consulting Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. BidaskClub raised Huron Consulting Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, cut Huron Consulting Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Huron Consulting Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

NASDAQ HURN traded down $0.09 on Monday, hitting $68.99. 6,062 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 58,274. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.05. The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of -0.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Huron Consulting Group has a 1-year low of $44.78 and a 1-year high of $70.50.

Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $219.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.59 million. Huron Consulting Group had a net margin of 3.25% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Huron Consulting Group will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, EVP Diane E. Ratekin sold 7,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.59, for a total value of $526,327.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,393,444.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Mccartney sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.12, for a total value of $66,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 63,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,181,494.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Huron Consulting Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $449,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Huron Consulting Group in the third quarter worth $358,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 2,794.2% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 268,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,447,000 after purchasing an additional 258,855 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 50.4% in the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 35,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 11,723 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 34,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. 88.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Huron Consulting Group

Huron Consulting Group Inc, a professional services firm, provides advisory, technology, and analytic solutions in the United States and internationally. Its Healthcare segment provides advisory services in the areas of strategy, care transformation, financial and operational excellence, technology and analytics, and leadership development to national and regional hospitals, integrated health systems, academic medical centers, community hospitals, and medical groups.