StockNews.com Upgrades Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of HLI stock opened at $184.12 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.50. The company has a market capitalization of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64 and a beta of 0.65. Houlihan Lokey has a 52 week low of $102.29 and a 52 week high of $190.66.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. Houlihan Lokey’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.63%.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total transaction of $30,498.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,067,582.49. This trade represents a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,600 shares of company stock valued at $249,860. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 264.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.