Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Boosts Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $3,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter worth $230,335,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter worth about $126,723,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 75.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 713,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,495,000 after acquiring an additional 307,214 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 153.8% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 274,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,376,000 after purchasing an additional 166,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 19.7% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 956,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,376,000 after purchasing an additional 157,605 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Robert A. Schriesheim sold 5,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.86, for a total value of $854,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,781,004.52. The trade was a 15.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.17, for a total value of $87,085.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group cut their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $196.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $243.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.57.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

HLI stock opened at $143.47 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.41 and a 12 month high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 16.91%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

About Houlihan Lokey

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.