QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 112.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,150 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $2,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,225,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,613,000 after acquiring an additional 36,144 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter valued at $230,335,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,041,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,506,000 after buying an additional 41,470 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,462,000 after buying an additional 21,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 874,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,291,000 after buying an additional 82,002 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HLI shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $228.00 to $218.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.17, for a total transaction of $87,085.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

NYSE:HLI opened at $189.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.63 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.18. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.99 and a 1-year high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $659.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.08 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 24.17%. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

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.