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

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $156.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on HLI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $192.00 price target (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $156.34 on Monday. Houlihan Lokey has a 1-year low of $122.14 and a 1-year high of $192.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $166.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84 and a beta of 0.84.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 43.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.