Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $157.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on HLI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price target on the stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 2.5 %

NYSE:HLI opened at $183.60 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $162.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.08. Houlihan Lokey has a 52 week low of $100.92 and a 52 week high of $189.17. The company has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a PE ratio of 37.55 and a beta of 0.65.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. Houlihan Lokey’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is currently 46.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total transaction of $1,263,269.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total transaction of $30,498.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,067,582.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,917 shares of company stock valued at $1,513,129 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HLI. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 24,074.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 501,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,647,000 after purchasing an additional 499,535 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 666.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 283,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,831,000 after purchasing an additional 246,705 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,141,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,273,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,507,000 after acquiring an additional 62,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 183,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,072,000 after acquiring an additional 54,386 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.