Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) from an underweight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $179.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $180.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.00.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $155.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73 and a beta of 0.72. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $121.81 and a 1 year high of $192.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.88.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 16.00%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 43.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.