Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Announces Earnings Results

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13, Zacks reports. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock traded up $3.58 on Tuesday, reaching $184.16. 445,132 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 426,847. Houlihan Lokey has a 1-year low of $119.28 and a 1-year high of $192.10. The firm has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $179.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.29.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HLI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on 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, UBS Group increased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.40.

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.