Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

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

HLI has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $184.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $179.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.59. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $119.28 and a 1 year high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. Research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter worth $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter worth $76,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.