Brokerages Set Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Target Price at $174.20

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $174.20.

HLI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $171.00 to $200.00 in a report 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 note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of HLI stock opened at $171.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.08 and a beta of 0.67. Houlihan Lokey has a one year low of $112.17 and a one year high of $192.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $179.74 and its 200 day moving average is $161.06.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is 46.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,109,496.08. This trade represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 69.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. 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.