Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Rating Increased to Peer Perform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on HLI. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.12.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $136.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey has a 1-year low of $131.30 and a 1-year high of $211.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $143.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.55.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $679.22 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 22.88%. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.02%.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total transaction of $941,378.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 6,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,378.90. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 103.4% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.