Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to “Outperform” Rating

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have $232.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $185.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE HLI opened at $194.71 on Monday. Houlihan Lokey has a 52 week low of $137.99 and a 52 week high of $195.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $177.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46 and a beta of 0.83.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $666.42 million during 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 business’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the company’s 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total value of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HLI. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 241,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,474,000 after purchasing an additional 6,012 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 11.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 132.9% in the second quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 4,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 2,577 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at approximately $576,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,882,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.