Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Stock Price

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its price objective decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $172.00 to $170.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $175.09 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.33. Houlihan Lokey has a 52-week low of $112.84 and a 52-week high of $192.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.81 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

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.