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

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $191.2857.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HLI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $160.00 price target on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total transaction of $941,378.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 6,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,378.90. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $71,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,700. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE:HLI opened at $139.38 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.96. The company has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $134.41 and a fifty-two week high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The company had revenue of $635.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $679.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 45.02%.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.