Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.00.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.0 %

HLI opened at $184.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.50. The company has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64 and a beta of 0.65. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $102.29 and a 12-month high of $190.66.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.63%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,496.08. This trade represents a 2.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total transaction of $155,290.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,600 shares of company stock valued at $249,860. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,104,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,300,000 after purchasing an additional 29,843 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,273,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,507,000 after acquiring an additional 62,314 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,087,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $416,434,000 after purchasing an additional 38,155 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,276,000 after purchasing an additional 21,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 970,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,405,000 after purchasing an additional 26,564 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

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.