Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Receives $194.20 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $192.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $179.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $161.50 on Thursday. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $121.81 and a 12-month high of $192.10. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $173.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.10.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $459,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,393,000 after buying an additional 20,354 shares during the last quarter. Novem Group bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $694,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 179,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,114,000 after buying an additional 13,384 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.