Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Price Target to $170.00

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its target price reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $172.00 to $170.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on HLI. StockNews.com downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley cut Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $175.09 on Monday. Houlihan Lokey has a 52-week low of $112.84 and a 52-week high of $192.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $179.86 and a 200-day moving average of $163.33. The stock has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of 35.81 and a beta of 0.69.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is currently 46.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth about $335,000. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 242,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth about $443,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,613,000. 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.