Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $206.40.

HLI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $190.64 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.05. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $137.99 and a twelve month high of $195.60. The company has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76 and a beta of 0.83.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 16.73%. The firm had revenue of $666.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total value of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,306,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $857,017,000 after purchasing an additional 41,030 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,281,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $569,830,000 after acquiring an additional 208,851 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,875,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,651,000 after acquiring an additional 161,647 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,393,000 after acquiring an additional 20,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,041,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,815,000 after acquiring an additional 573,745 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Houlihan Lokey

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.