AXQ Capital LP Makes New Investment in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $970,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,305,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,260,000 after purchasing an additional 13,750 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,133,000 after buying an additional 84,757 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,041,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,506,000 after buying an additional 41,470 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 956,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,376,000 after buying an additional 157,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 874,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,291,000 after buying an additional 82,002 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI stock opened at $139.21 on Wednesday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.41 and a fifty-two week high of $211.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $149.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.01. The company has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.95.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The firm had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $679.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.02%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $71,700.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total value of $941,378.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 6,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,378.90. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HLI shares. Zacks Research downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group set a $160.00 price objective on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.29.

Houlihan Lokey 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.