Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Short Interest Up 28.9% in February

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 764,000 shares, a growth of 28.9% from the February 13th total of 592,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 400,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HLI. 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 0.5 %

HLI stock traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $162.10. 354,797 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 404,480. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.10. Houlihan Lokey has a 1-year low of $121.81 and a 1-year high of $192.10. The company has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93 and a beta of 0.72.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 16.00%. Equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 2,606 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,262,000 after purchasing an additional 26,522 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,864 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 399,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,111,000 after purchasing an additional 9,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter worth $92,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.