The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Price Target to $210.00

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its price target cut by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $243.00 to $210.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 48.14% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.29.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLI traded down $4.62 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $141.76. 257,714 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 556,815. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.97. The company has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $137.99 and a twelve month high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 24.46%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Robert A. Schriesheim sold 5,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.86, for a total transaction of $854,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,781,004.52. The trade was a 15.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.17, for a total value of $87,085.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,305,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,260,000 after purchasing an additional 13,750 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 362.1% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,703,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,133,000 after purchasing an additional 84,757 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,225,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,613,000 after buying an additional 36,144 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2,723.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,199,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $208,934,000 after buying an additional 1,156,973 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm’s core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.