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

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $185.00.

HLI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total value of $86,510.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.2% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 9,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth about $1,494,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth about $9,549,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 15.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 20,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,309,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 141.9% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 6,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 3,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $172.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69 and a beta of 0.83. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $129.32 and a 1 year high of $192.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $169.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.25.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $666.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.25 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 16.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is an increase from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

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.