Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

HLI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $154.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

HLI opened at $185.66 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.87. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $102.29 and a 1 year high of $190.66. The company has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.97 and a beta of 0.65.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The business had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total transaction of $33,616.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,601 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,496.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,917 shares of company stock worth $1,513,129. Insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 6,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 25,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 78.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 6,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter worth approximately $218,000. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

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.