Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $133.40 and last traded at $132.9050, with a volume of 63777 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $138.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on HLI. Zacks Research raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group set a $160.00 target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.29.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 0.9%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $146.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.46. The stock has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.95.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The business had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $679.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is currently 45.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total transaction of $941,378.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 6,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,378.90. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HLI. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 362.1% in 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. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2,723.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,156,973 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $115,478,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter worth $35,728,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 153.8% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 274,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,376,000 after purchasing an additional 166,285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.