Brokerages Set Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) PT at $191.29

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $191.2857.

A number of brokerages recently commented on HLI. Zacks Research lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of HLI stock opened at $150.43 on Tuesday. Houlihan Lokey has a 12 month low of $134.41 and a 12 month high of $211.78. The firm has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.92 and a 200-day moving average of $167.16.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $635.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $679.22 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $71,700.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $71,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 22.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 14.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,008,000 after purchasing an additional 6,253 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 50.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 9,891 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth $18,964,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,143,000 after purchasing an additional 22,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter worth $1,033,000. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm’s core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.