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

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $204.5714.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HLI. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $196.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $243.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE HLI opened at $139.35 on Monday. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $136.68 and a twelve month high of $211.78. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.97.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 16.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.17, for a total transaction of $87,085.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Schriesheim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.86, for a total value of $854,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,781,004.52. This represents a 15.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,305,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,260,000 after acquiring an additional 13,750 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 362.1% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,703,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,133,000 after acquiring an additional 84,757 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,225,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,613,000 after purchasing an additional 36,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2,723.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,199,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $208,934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,973 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm’s core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.