Brokerages Set Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Price Target at $194.40

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $194.40.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HLI. UBS Group boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of HLI opened at $181.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $177.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66 and a beta of 0.69. Houlihan Lokey has a 52 week low of $121.81 and a 52 week high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 16.00%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 43.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $217,393,000 after purchasing an additional 20,354 shares during the last quarter. Novem Group purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $694,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 179,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,114,000 after purchasing an additional 13,384 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth $3,091,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

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.