Brokerages Set Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Target Price at $157.00

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $157.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $154.00 price objective (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total transaction of $1,263,269.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total transaction of $1,263,269.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total value of $30,498.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,067,582.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,917 shares of company stock worth $1,513,129. 25.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,104,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $654,300,000 after buying an additional 29,843 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,273,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,507,000 after purchasing an additional 62,314 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,087,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,434,000 after purchasing an additional 38,155 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 776,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,697,000 after purchasing an additional 45,205 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,851,000 after purchasing an additional 6,291 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $173.57 on Monday. Houlihan Lokey has a one year low of $94.67 and a one year high of $175.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23 and a beta of 0.66.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The company had revenue of $514.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.47%.

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.