Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $150.25.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 target price (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $131.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.25. 792,353 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 339,924. Houlihan Lokey has a 52-week low of $94.67 and a 52-week high of $153.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.56 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.39.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.22. The business had revenue of $514.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.70 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 14.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.47%.

Insider Activity

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total value of $1,339,245.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider David A. Preiser sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total transaction of $2,664,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total transaction of $1,339,245.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 25.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 624.8% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 6,267 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,104,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $654,300,000 after purchasing an additional 29,843 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 731,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $93,723,000 after purchasing an additional 37,882 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 118,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,205,000 after buying an additional 12,419 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth about $2,960,000. Hedge funds and other 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.