Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.60.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HLI shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $148.00 to $146.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE HLI opened at $154.64 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 37.63 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s fifty day moving average is $149.54 and its 200 day moving average is $136.90. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $94.67 and a fifty-two week high of $160.62.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.22. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.64 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.47%.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total transaction of $1,339,245.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total value of $1,339,245.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,619 shares of company stock worth $2,818,759. Insiders own 25.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.