Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.15 EPS

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15, Briefing.com reports. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The firm had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 1.2 %

HLI stock traded down $2.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $164.68. The company had a trading volume of 542,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 320,049. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $99.35 and a 1 year high of $175.21. The company has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $160.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HLI. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,601 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,496.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total transaction of $33,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,496.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total transaction of $155,290.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,917 shares of company stock worth $1,513,129. 25.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc, an investment banking company, provides merger and acquisition (M&A), capital market, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Corporate Finance, Financial Restructuring, and Financial and Valuation Advisory.