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

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of HLI stock opened at $177.69 on Thursday. Houlihan Lokey has a 1-year low of $121.81 and a 1-year high of $192.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $177.82 and a 200 day moving average of $169.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.35 billion, a PE ratio of 33.91 and a beta of 0.69.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 16.00%. Analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth $479,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 22,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. 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.