Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI Shares Bought by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 63.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,170 shares during the quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $3,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HLI. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 362.1% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,703,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334,769 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 2,723.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,199,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $208,934,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,973 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth about $115,478,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth about $35,728,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,750,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $153.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $187.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America started coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Friday, July 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $164.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $161.00 to $147.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.38.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE HLI opened at $137.05 on Monday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.83 and a 52 week high of $211.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.55.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $511.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.38 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.10% and a return on equity of 20.20%. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is 47.06%.

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.