Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Chairman Sells $941,378.90 in Stock

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Chairman Scott Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total transaction of $941,378.90. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 6,265 shares in the company, valued at $941,378.90. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $151.71 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.55. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $134.41 and a one year high of $211.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.99.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The business had revenue of $635.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $679.22 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 38.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HLI. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,640,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 75.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 713,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,495,000 after buying an additional 307,214 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 174,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,868,000 after buying an additional 14,483 shares during the last quarter. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 45.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda now owns 72,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,783,000 after buying an additional 22,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 639.9% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 44,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,153,000 after buying an additional 38,553 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.29.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.