Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

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

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE HLI opened at $186.53 on Tuesday. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $101.92 and a fifty-two week high of $190.66. The stock has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.15 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.61.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.63%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,109,496.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total transaction of $155,290.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total transaction of $33,616.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,109,496.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,917 shares of company stock valued at $1,513,129. Insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Okabena Investment Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter worth $218,000. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 58.4% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 23,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,655,000 after acquiring an additional 8,530 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 23.6% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 693,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,525,000 after purchasing an additional 132,516 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 33.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,974,000 after purchasing an additional 149,114 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.