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

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $209.1667.

A number of research firms recently commented on HLI. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.1%

HLI stock opened at $166.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $176.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.51. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $137.99 and a 12-month high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.09. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 16.91%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is currently 36.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Robert A. Schriesheim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.86, for a total transaction of $854,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,781,004.52. The trade was a 15.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company’s 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $863,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 28,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $406,000. Finally, Cim LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 8,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.