March 21, 2024
Top 10 Stock Huron Consulting Strong Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Huron Consulting – Top 10 Stock in SDG 4: Quality Education
Huron Consulting is listed as a top 10 stock on March 21, 2024 in the market index SDG 4 because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Two consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. The company is growing above average and professional investor sentiment is positive. Both are encouraging signals for a stock purchase decision, albeit at an above-average share price. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 75 (top 75% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for Huron Consulting on March 21, 2024.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Research & Consulting |
| Index | Employee Focus US, Diversity USA, SDG 13, SDG 3, SDG 4, SDG 5, SDG 8, NASDAQ |
| Size class | Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Huron Consulting Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | March 21, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 37 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 71 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 47 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 100 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 75 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 75 (better than 75% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Huron Consulting are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half of the metrics below and half above average for Huron Consulting. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 71, which means that the company experiences above-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. This means that growth is higher than for 71% of competitors in the same industry. The consolidated Sentiment Rank also has a good rank of 100, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 100% of alternative investment opportunities. But the consolidated Value Rank has a less desirable rank of 37, which means that the share price of Huron Consulting is on the higher side compared with typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is higher than for 63% of alternative stocks in the same industry. Finally, the consolidated Safety Rank has a riskier rank of 47, which means that the company has a financing structure that is riskier than those of 53% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 75, Huron Consulting is better positioned than 75% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. Only half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, so one needs to take a close look. Growth is above-average (Growth Rank of 71), and professional market sentiment is positive (Sentiment Rank of 100), but value and safety are below average. The Safety Rank is the least significant of the four consolidated ranks, because it only reflects financing practices. In the case of high growth, aggressive financing is a good thing. So the question is: How to assess below-average value against above-average growth and sentiment? Growth may be the strongest driver of the investment rationale in this case, which is reflected in institutional investors' opinions. It is typical for growth companies to have low value, as is the case here. Investors are willing to pay more for companies that outperform their competitors. So the question is, how much do you sacrifice value for growth? You can use the following rule of thumb: If you take 100 minus the growth rank, you arrive at a possibly minimum level for the value rank. For example, if the growth rank is at 75, and the value rank is at 5, you should tread carefully. If the value rank is at 40, it still might be a good value if the growth rank is above 60. Sometimes market sentiment just extrapolates the past, but sometimes it reflects reality. You pay more than the market average for this stock, but it may be worth it. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Huron Consulting very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 100 (better than 100% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Huron Consulting is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all four indicators above average for Huron Consulting. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 100 (better than 100% of alternative investments), which means that, currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. Analyst Opinions Change is also positive with a rank of 98, which means that stock research experts are changing their opinions for the better and recommending investing in the company. They are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Huron Consulting. The Professional Investors rank is 73, which means that currently, professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 73% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Finally, Market Pulse has a rank of 85 which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are on the positive side when discussing this company (more positive news than for 85% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 100 (more positive than 100% compared with investment alternatives), Huron Consulting has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. Since all market sentiment indicators are positive, the professional community highly recommends investment in the company. Does this mean Huron Consulting stocks are a safe investment? Far from it. Even professionals make mistakes. Especially in stock investing, there is a tendency to follow the leaders. Since trees don't grow to the heavens, such positive sentiment may also be interpreted as a danger sign. A lot of optimism can often be a sign of troubles to come, albeit unforeseen by most. ...read more
Value Strategy: Huron Consulting Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 37 (worse than 63% compared with alternatives), Huron Consulting shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, where half the indicators are below and half are above average for Huron Consulting. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 59, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 59% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Huron Consulting's revenue size. The same is valid for expected Price-to-Profits (or Price / Earnings, P/E), more favorable than for 64% of alternatives. It is also positive for expected dividend yields with a Dividend Yield rank of 1 (dividends are expected to be higher than for 1% of other stocks). But, compared with other companies in the same industry, the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) is higher than average, making the stock more expensive. Only 54% of all competitors have an even higher price compared with book capital which puts the Price-to-Capital Rank for Huron Consulting to 46. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 37, is a hold recommendation based on Huron Consulting's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. A low level of book capital means that the company has a business that is leaner on assets than its competitors. For instance, the company could be leasing its production facilities, or be more focussed on intellectual property, such as its brand and software, which is less visible in its book capital. If that is the case, the low Dividend Yield is also explained as such companies tend to invest their income into market development. The other good value ranks for Sales and Profits are encouraging indicators for the stock price value. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Huron Consulting Growth Momentum good
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 71 (better than 71% compared with alternatives), Huron Consulting shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Huron Consulting. Sales Growth has a rank of 70 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 70% of its competitors. Both Profit Growth, with a rank of 67, and Stock Returns, with a rank of 51, are also above average. But Capital Growth only has a rank of 35, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital less than 65% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 71, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That may be a good sign if the company is already well positioned and doesn't require more investments at this time. They may focus on growing the top (revenues) and bottom (profits) lines, recently rewarded with above-average stock returns for shareholders. But it may also be a sign of danger as the company is falling back with capital investment activities concerning competition. This requires further analysis of corporate communications. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Huron Consulting Debt Financing Safety below-average
| SAFETY METRICS | March 21, 2024 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 44 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 41 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 59 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 47 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 47 (better than 47% compared with alternatives), the company Huron Consulting has financing practices on the riskier side, which means that their overall debt burden is above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Huron Consulting is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for Huron Consulting. Liquidity is at 59, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 59% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 41, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 59% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 44, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 56% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 47 (worse than 53% compared with alternatives), Huron Consulting has a financing structure that is riskier than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Huron Consulting Below-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | March 21, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 37 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 71 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 59 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 42 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 42 (worse than 58% compared with investment alternatives), Huron Consulting (Research & Consulting, USA) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Huron Consulting are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 37 (worse than 63% of alternatives), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 47, which means above-average debt burdens) but show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 71). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 42, is a hold recommendation based on Huron Consulting's financial characteristics. As the company Huron Consulting shows low value with an Obermatt Value Rank of 37 (63% of comparable investments are less expensive), investors should look at the other ranks. In this case, growth is expected to be above-average, better than 71% of comparable companies (Obermatt Growth Rank is 71). This is a typical case. Companies with above average growth tend to cost more than stocks with slower growth expectations. If this is a high-growth company, the low Obermatt Safety Rank of 47 is a good sign. The more debt a well-performing company has, the higher the returns to shareholders. However, if growth turns negative or interest rates increase, high debt may become a burden. If you believe the future is bright for Huron Consulting, even a low-value company (in terms of its key financial indicators) can be a good investment. ...read more
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