Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $178.00 to $180.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $171.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $180.16 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.69. The company has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.84 and a beta of 0.69. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $119.28 and a 1 year high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. As a group, research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HLI. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 24,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 73.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 14,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,177,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.