UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Stock Price

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $229.00 to $230.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE HLI opened at $180.16 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $179.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.69. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $119.28 and a twelve month high of $192.10. The company has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a PE ratio of 36.84 and a beta of 0.69.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. Equities analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,276,000 after purchasing an additional 21,106 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 970,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,405,000 after purchasing an additional 26,564 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 693,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,525,000 after purchasing an additional 132,516 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,974,000 after buying an additional 149,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 399,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,111,000 after buying an additional 9,768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.