Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $153.00.

Several research firms recently commented on HLI. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $154.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total value of $30,498.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,067,582.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total value of $30,498.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,582.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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. Insiders sold a total of 19,619 shares of company stock worth $2,818,759 in the last 90 days. 25.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,104,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,300,000 after acquiring an additional 29,843 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $441,507,000 after purchasing an additional 62,314 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $416,434,000 after purchasing an additional 38,155 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,714,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,583,000 after purchasing an additional 46,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 1,195,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,364,000 after purchasing an additional 39,705 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $159.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 38.82 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $151.50 and a 200-day moving average of $138.26. Houlihan Lokey has a 52-week low of $94.67 and a 52-week high of $162.84.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.22. The company had revenue of $514.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.70 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 15.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.47%.

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.