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These 4 Measures Indicate That Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) Is Using Debt Reasonably Well

These 4 Measures Indicate That Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) Is Using Debt Reasonably Well

這4項指標表明,休倫諮詢集團(納斯達克股票代碼:HURN)的債務使用情況相當不錯
Simply Wall St ·  04/16 19:39

The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. We note that Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN) does have debt on its balance sheet. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

由伯克希爾·哈撒韋公司的查理·芒格支持的外部基金經理李露對此毫不掩飾,他說:“最大的投資風險不是價格的波動,而是你是否會遭受永久的資本損失。”當我們思考一家公司的風險有多大時,我們總是喜歡考慮其債務的用途,因爲債務過載可能導致破產。我們注意到,休倫諮詢集團公司(納斯達克股票代碼:HURN)的資產負債表上確實有債務。但是,股東是否應該擔心其債務的使用?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

爲什麼債務會帶來風險?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. However, a more frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

一般而言,只有當公司無法通過籌集資金或用自己的現金流輕鬆還清債務時,債務才會成爲真正的問題。如果情況變得非常糟糕,貸款人可以控制業務。但是,更頻繁(但仍然代價高昂)的情況是,公司必須以低廉的價格發行股票,永久稀釋股東,以支撐其資產負債表。但是,通過取代稀釋,對於需要資金以高回報率投資增長的企業來說,債務可能是一個非常好的工具。當我們研究債務水平時,我們首先要同時考慮現金和債務水平。

How Much Debt Does Huron Consulting Group Carry?

休倫諮詢集團揹負了多少債務?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of December 2023 Huron Consulting Group had US$324.3m of debt, an increase on US$290.0m, over one year. However, it also had US$18.8m in cash, and so its net debt is US$305.5m.

你可以點擊下圖查看歷史數字,但它顯示,截至2023年12月,休倫諮詢集團在一年內有3.243億美元的債務,比2.90億美元增加了2.90億美元。但是,它也有1880萬美元的現金,因此其淨負債爲3.055億美元。

debt-equity-history-analysis
NasdaqGS:HURN Debt to Equity History April 16th 2024
NASDAQGS: HURN 債券與股本的比率歷史記錄 2024 年 4 月 16 日

How Strong Is Huron Consulting Group's Balance Sheet?

休倫諮詢集團的資產負債表有多強?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Huron Consulting Group had liabilities of US$302.6m due within 12 months and liabilities of US$426.7m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had US$18.8m in cash and US$359.8m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total US$350.6m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

放大最新的資產負債表數據,我們可以看到,休倫諮詢集團在12個月內到期的負債爲3.026億美元,之後到期的負債爲4.267億美元。與此相抵消的是,它有1,880萬美元的現金和3.598億美元的應收賬款將在12個月內到期。因此,其負債總額比其現金和短期應收賬款的總和高出3.506億美元。

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Huron Consulting Group has a market capitalization of US$1.58b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. However, it is still worthwhile taking a close look at its ability to pay off debt.

儘管這可能看起來很多,但還不錯,因爲休倫諮詢集團的市值爲15.8億美元,因此,如果需要,它可能會通過籌集資金來加強資產負債表。但是,仍然值得仔細研究其償還債務的能力。

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). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

我們通過以下方法來衡量公司的債務負擔與其盈利能力:將其淨負債除以利息、稅項、折舊和攤銷前的收益(EBITDA),並計算其利息和稅前收益(EBIT)支付利息支出(利息保障)的難易程度。因此,我們將債務與收益的關係考慮在內,包括和不包括折舊和攤銷費用。

With a debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.0, Huron Consulting Group uses debt artfully but responsibly. And the fact that its trailing twelve months of EBIT was 7.0 times its interest expenses harmonizes with that theme. We note that Huron Consulting Group grew its EBIT by 25% in the last year, and that should make it easier to pay down debt, going forward. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. 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 want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

休倫諮詢集團的債務與息稅折舊攤銷前利潤比率爲2.0,巧妙但負責任地使用債務。而且,其過去十二個月的息稅前利潤是其利息支出的7.0倍,這一事實與這一主題一致。我們注意到,休倫諮詢集團去年的息稅前利潤增長了25%,這將使未來更容易償還債務。毫無疑問,我們從資產負債表中學到的關於債務的知識最多。但是,未來的收益將決定休倫諮詢集團未來維持健康資產負債表的能力。因此,如果你想看看專業人士的想法,你可能會發現這份關於分析師利潤預測的免費報告很有趣。

Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Over the most recent three years, Huron Consulting Group recorded free cash flow worth 52% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.

最後,企業需要自由現金流來償還債務;會計利潤根本無法減少債務。因此,合乎邏輯的步驟是研究息稅前利潤與實際自由現金流相匹配的比例。在最近三年中,休倫諮詢集團記錄的自由現金流佔其息稅前利潤的52%,鑑於自由現金流不包括利息和稅收,這幾乎是正常的。這種自由現金流使公司處於有利地位,可以在適當的時候償還債務。

Our View

我們的觀點

Happily, Huron Consulting Group's impressive EBIT growth rate implies it has the upper hand on its debt. And we also thought its interest cover was a positive. Looking at all the aforementioned factors together, it strikes us that Huron Consulting Group can handle its debt fairly comfortably. On the plus side, this leverage can boost shareholder returns, but the potential downside is more risk of loss, so it's worth monitoring the balance sheet. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. We've identified 3 warning signs with Huron Consulting Group , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

令人高興的是,休倫諮詢集團令人印象深刻的息稅前利潤增長率意味着其在債務方面佔了上風。而且我們還認爲其利息保障是積極的。綜合上述所有因素,令我們震驚的是,休倫諮詢集團能夠相當輕鬆地處理債務。從好的方面來看,這種槓桿作用可以提高股東的回報,但潛在的缺點是損失風險更大,因此值得關注資產負債表。毫無疑問,我們從資產負債表中學到的關於債務的知識最多。但是,並非所有的投資風險都存在於資產負債表中,遠非如此。我們已經向休倫諮詢集團確定了3個警告信號,了解它們應該是您投資過程的一部分。

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

當一切都說完之後,有時更容易將注意力集中在甚至不需要債務的公司上。讀者現在可以100%免費訪問淨負債爲零的成長型股票清單。

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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.

對這篇文章有反饋嗎?對內容感到擔憂?直接聯繫我們。 或者,給編輯團隊 (at) simplywallst.com 發送電子郵件。
Simply Wall St的這篇文章本質上是籠統的。我們僅使用公正的方法根據歷史數據和分析師的預測提供評論,我們的文章無意作爲財務建議。它不構成買入或賣出任何股票的建議,也沒有考慮到您的目標或財務狀況。我們的目標是爲您提供由基本數據驅動的長期重點分析。請注意,我們的分析可能不考慮最新的價格敏感型公司公告或定性材料。簡而言之,華爾街沒有持有任何上述股票的頭寸。

譯文內容由第三人軟體翻譯。


以上內容僅用作資訊或教育之目的,不構成與富途相關的任何投資建議。富途竭力但無法保證上述全部內容的真實性、準確性和原創性。
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