Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Sets New 52-Week High at $158.06

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $158.06 and last traded at $157.35, with a volume of 6387 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $156.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 target price on the stock. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $148.00 to $146.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.60.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 2.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.63 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50-day moving average is $149.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.90.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The business had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total transaction of $1,339,245.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total transaction of $1,339,245.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,619 shares of company stock worth $2,818,759 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 25.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 624.8% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 6,267 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,104,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,300,000 after buying an additional 29,843 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 731,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,723,000 after buying an additional 37,882 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 118,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,205,000 after acquiring an additional 12,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 165,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,880,000 after acquiring an additional 44,558 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Houlihan Lokey

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.