Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $180.13 on Tuesday. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $119.28 and a twelve month high of $192.10. The firm has a market cap of $12.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.84 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $178.92 and a 200-day moving average of $166.78.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% in the third quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 8,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,293,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 21,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.