Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Stock Price

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its target price boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $171.00 to $172.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on HLI. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.20.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.7 %

HLI stock opened at $173.97 on Friday. Houlihan Lokey has a 1-year low of $112.17 and a 1-year high of $192.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $178.84 and its 200-day moving average is $157.76. The firm has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.58 and a beta of 0.67.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.93 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 46.63%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,496.08. This represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 8,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,293,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 12.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 21,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 264.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.