Morgan Stanley Lowers Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Price Target to $156.00

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $156.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.53% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $179.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $192.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.20.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLI traded down $2.66 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $143.74. 292,977 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,843. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.89. Houlihan Lokey has a 52 week low of $122.14 and a 52 week high of $192.10.

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

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 17,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter worth approximately $408,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 89,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,188,000 after purchasing an additional 26,780 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.