Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Price Target Cut to $187.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $193.00 to $187.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 35.66% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HLI. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, US Capital Advisors set a $187.00 price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.12.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 2.6%

HLI traded up $3.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $137.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,606,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 657,024. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.83. The stock has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $131.30 and a twelve month high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The company had revenue of $635.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $679.22 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,378.90. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 45.2% in the third quarter. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda now owns 72,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,783,000 after purchasing an additional 22,400 shares during the last quarter. Robinhood Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,862,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 174,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,868,000 after acquiring an additional 14,483 shares during the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 597.1% in the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 61,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,637,000 after acquiring an additional 52,720 shares during the period. Finally, Pier Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 44,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,664,000 after acquiring an additional 16,894 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.