Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 4,637 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,637 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $17,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 5,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 7.9% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total transaction of $941,378.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 6,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,378.90. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 22.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $193.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised Houlihan Lokey from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. US Capital Advisors set a $187.00 target price on Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $164.00 price target on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Friday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.50.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

NYSE HLI opened at $139.10 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $141.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.72 and a 1-year high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $679.22 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The business’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 7.91 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.02%.

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.