Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.20.

Several analysts recently weighed in on HLI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,109,496.08. The trade was a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,851,000 after purchasing an additional 6,291 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,506,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $439,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.1% in the second quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 177,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,575 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 1.1 %

HLI stock opened at $174.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $179.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.54. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $112.17 and a 12-month high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is 46.63%.

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.