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

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

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HLI shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock 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 for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price objective for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total transaction of $155,290.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total transaction of $155,290.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total value of $30,498.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,067,582.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,619 shares of company stock valued at $2,818,759. 25.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 264.5% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 194.9% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $154.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 37.63 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.90. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $94.67 and a 12-month high of $160.62.

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

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.47%.

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.