Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $191.2857.

HLI has been the subject of several research reports. 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 target price on Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group set a $160.00 target price on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of HLI stock opened at $134.17 on Wednesday. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $131.30 and a twelve month high of $211.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.46.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The firm had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $679.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. Houlihan Lokey’s quarterly 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. 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. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.02%.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

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 value 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. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 362.1% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,703,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334,769 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position 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 worth $208,934,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,973 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth $115,478,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth $35,728,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 153.8% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 274,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,376,000 after acquiring an additional 166,285 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.