Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $192.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.40.

Get Our Latest Report on Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of HLI opened at $194.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.46 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.77. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $137.99 and a fifty-two week high of $195.60.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 16.73%. The company had revenue of $666.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $86,510.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Motco purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 103.5% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3,714.3% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

About Houlihan Lokey

(Get Free Report)

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.

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