Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (HLI) – What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $161.38.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HLI shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $147.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. US Capital Advisors set a $187.00 target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $171.00 to $148.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.8%

Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $129.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.00. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $112.83 and a 12-month high of $204.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $130.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.37.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.29). Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.20% and a net margin of 16.10%. The company had revenue of $511.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $602.38 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.06%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.15, for a total value of $140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,150. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 22.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 4,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,334,000. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Diversified Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter worth $2,294,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 53.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 4,324 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank that provides financial advisory services to corporations, institutions, governments and other organizations. The firm focuses on complex strategic, financial and restructuring matters and is known for its independent advisory model.

Its principal businesses include corporate finance, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Services include mergers and acquisitions advice, capital-raising and other strategic transactions, restructuring and liability management, fairness opinions, solvency analysis, financial reporting valuations, and transaction opinions.

Founded in 1972, Houlihan Lokey serves clients through offices across North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.