Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $189.19 and last traded at $189.02, with a volume of 62217 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $185.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.98 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.61.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.93 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 46.63%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total transaction of $30,498.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,067,582.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,917 shares of company stock valued at $1,513,129. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 264.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

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.