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

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HLI. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $172.96 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $162.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.73. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $127.14 and a twelve month high of $192.10. The company has a market cap of $12.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.01 and a beta of 0.82.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 16.00%. The firm had revenue of $666.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,306,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $857,017,000 after purchasing an additional 41,030 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,281,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $569,830,000 after purchasing an additional 208,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,875,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,651,000 after purchasing an additional 161,647 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,393,000 after purchasing an additional 20,354 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,041,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,815,000 after buying an additional 573,745 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Houlihan Lokey

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.