Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Short Interest Update

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLIGet Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 983,600 shares, a growth of 27.7% from the June 15th total of 770,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 323,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on HLI. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on HLI

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of HLI opened at $144.12 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.05. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $94.67 and a fifty-two week high of $145.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 35.07 and a beta of 0.67.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLIGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.07. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm had revenue of $520.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.63 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.47%.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, insider David A. Preiser sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total transaction of $2,664,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total value of $1,339,245.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider David A. Preiser sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total transaction of $2,664,200.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLI. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 78,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 6,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 429,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

About Houlihan Lokey

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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.

Further Reading

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