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We Think Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt

We Think Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt

我們認爲休倫諮詢集團(NASDAQ:HURN)能夠控制好其債務
Simply Wall St ·  09/20 06:45

Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. We note that Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

有人認爲,作爲投資者,波動性而不是債務是考慮風險的最佳方式,但禾倫·巴菲特曾經說過:「波動性與風險遠非同義詞。」因此,當你考慮某隻股票的風險時,考慮債務可能是顯而易見的,因爲過多的債務可能會拖垮一家公司。我們注意到,Huron Consulting Group Inc.(納斯達克股票代碼:HURN)確實在其資產負債表上有債務。但真正的問題是,這筆債務是否使該公司具有風險。

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

債務帶來了什麼風險?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

債務能幫助業務,直到業務無法用新資本或自由現金流償還爲止。資本主義的一部分是「創造性破壞」的過程,在這個過程中,銀行家們會無情地清算失敗的企業。然而,一個更常見(但仍然痛苦)的場景是,公司需要以低價籌集新股本,從而永久稀釋股東的持股。 當然,債務在企業中可能是一個重要的工具,特別是在資本密集度高的企業中。 當我們考慮公司的債務使用時,我們首先看現金和債務。

What Is Huron Consulting Group's Debt?

休倫諮詢集團的債務是什麼?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at June 2024 Huron Consulting Group had debt of US$510.4m, up from US$395.1m in one year. However, it also had US$23.7m in cash, and so its net debt is US$486.7m.

下圖顯示了到2024年6月,休倫諮詢集團的債務爲51040萬美元,比一年前的39510萬美元增加,但同時,該公司也有2370萬美元的現金,所以其淨債務爲48670萬美元。

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NasdaqGS:HURN Debt to Equity History September 20th 2024
納斯達克股票代碼HURN的資產負債歷史記錄(截至2024年9月20日)

How Healthy Is Huron Consulting Group's Balance Sheet?

休倫諮詢集團的資產負債表狀況如何?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Huron Consulting Group had liabilities of US$225.8m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$599.6m due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of US$23.7m and US$377.5m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling US$424.2m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

根據最新公佈的資產負債表,休倫諮詢集團在12個月內到期的負債爲2,2580萬美元,並且超過12個月到期的負債爲5,9960萬美元。另一方面,其現金爲2,370萬美元,應收賬款爲3,7750萬美元。因此,其負債總額超過現金和短期應收賬款的42,420萬美元。

This deficit isn't so bad because Huron Consulting Group is worth US$1.75b, and thus could probably raise enough capital to shore up its balance sheet, if the need arose. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without dilution.

這個赤字並不算太糟糕,因爲休倫諮詢集團市值爲1.75億美元,因此如果需要,它可能能夠籌集足夠的資金來支撐其資產負債表。但很明顯,我們應該密切觀察它是否能夠在不稀釋權益的情況下管理其債務。

We measure a company's debt load relative to its earnings power by looking at its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and by calculating how easily its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) cover its interest expense (interest cover). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).

我們通過查看淨債務與利息、稅、折舊和攤銷前收益(EBITDA)之比以及計算其利息支出由收益前利息和稅(EBIT)覆蓋的程度來度量一家公司的債務負載相對於其收益能力的程度。此方法的優點在於我們同時考慮了債務的絕對量(以淨債務爲EBITDA)以及與該債務相關的實際利息支出(以其利息覆蓋倍數計算)。

Huron Consulting Group has a debt to EBITDA ratio of 3.0 and its EBIT covered its interest expense 6.5 times. This suggests that while the debt levels are significant, we'd stop short of calling them problematic. If Huron Consulting Group can keep growing EBIT at last year's rate of 18% over the last year, then it will find its debt load easier to manage. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Huron Consulting Group's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

休倫諮詢集團的債務/EBITDA比率爲3.0,其EBIT能夠支付其利息費用的6.5倍。這表明雖然債務水平相當顯著,但我們不會認爲它們有問題。如果休倫諮詢集團能夠以去年18%的增長率保持EBIT的增長,那麼它將更容易管理其債務負擔。在分析債務水平時,資產負債表是一個顯而易見的起點。但決定休倫諮詢集團是否能夠保持健康的資產負債表的,更多是未來的盈利能力。所以如果你關注未來,可以查看這份免費的分析師利潤預測報告。

Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the most recent three years, Huron Consulting Group recorded free cash flow worth 53% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This cold hard cash means it can reduce its debt when it wants to.

最後,儘管稅務部門可能熱衷於會計利潤,但債權人只接受冷硬的現金。所以值得檢查多少EBIT是由自由現金流支持的。在最近的三年裏,休倫諮詢集團的自由現金流佔EBIT的比例約爲53%,這在正常範圍內,因爲自由現金流不包括利息和稅費。這筆冷硬的現金意味着它可以在想要償還債務時減少債務。

Our View

我們的觀點

On our analysis Huron Consulting Group's EBIT growth rate should signal that it won't have too much trouble with its debt. However, our other observations weren't so heartening. For example, its net debt to EBITDA makes us a little nervous about its debt. When we consider all the elements mentioned above, it seems to us that Huron Consulting Group is managing its debt quite well. Having said that, the load is sufficiently heavy that we would recommend any shareholders keep a close eye on it. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Huron Consulting Group you should know about.

根據我們的分析,休倫諮詢集團的EBIT增長率應該表明它在處理債務方面不會遇到太大的麻煩。 然而,我們其他的觀察結果並不那麼令人振奮。 例如,它的淨債務與EBITDA之比讓我們對其債務感到有些擔憂。 當我們考慮到上述所有要素時,我們認爲休倫諮詢集團管理其債務相當出色。 儘管如此,負擔仍然相當沉重,我們建議股東密切關注。 毫無疑問,我們從資產負債表中了解債務的最多。 但最終,每家公司都可能存在資產負債表之外的風險。 這些風險可能很難發現。 每家公司都有風險,我們已經發現休倫諮詢集團的3個警告信號,您應該知道。

If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.

如果您有興趣投資能夠在不負債的情況下增長利潤的企業,請查看這份免費列表,其中列出了在資產負債表上擁有淨現金的成長型企業。

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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這篇文章是Simply Wall St的一般性文章。我們根據歷史數據和分析師預測提供評論,只使用公正的方法論,我們的文章並不意味着提供任何金融建議。文章不構成買賣任何股票的建議,也不考慮您的目標或您的財務狀況。我們的目標是帶給您基本數據驅動的長期關注分析。請注意,我們的分析可能不考慮最新的價格敏感公司公告或定性材料。Simply Wall St沒有任何股票頭寸。

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