Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL) was the target of a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 474,500 shares, a decline of 23.6% from the January 31st total of 620,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 324,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 16,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CSS LLC IL lifted its position in Jones Lang LaSalle by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 2,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jones Lang LaSalle Stock Performance

JLL stock traded down $3.97 during trading on Thursday, hitting $266.25. 28,515 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 290,854. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Jones Lang LaSalle has a 1 year low of $171.45 and a 1 year high of $288.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $264.58. The company has a market cap of $12.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51 and a beta of 1.36.

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $6.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.76 by $0.39. Jones Lang LaSalle had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Jones Lang LaSalle will post 16.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on JLL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Jones Lang LaSalle in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Jones Lang LaSalle from $263.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from $317.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $292.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $309.00.

About Jones Lang LaSalle

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated operates as a commercial real estate and investment management company. It engages in the buying, building, occupying, managing, and investing in a commercial, industrial, hotel, residential, and retail properties in Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific.