Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $173.40.

Several research firms recently commented on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 1.9 %

HLI opened at $184.60 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $179.22 and its 200-day moving average is $164.93. The stock has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a PE ratio of 37.75 and a beta of 0.69. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $119.28 and a twelve month high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. Houlihan Lokey’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is 46.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter worth $76,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 69.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.