Brokerages Set Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Target Price at $166.38

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $166.3750.

Several analysts have issued reports on HLI shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research raised Houlihan Lokey from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $161.00 to $147.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Friday, July 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.15, for a total transaction of $140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $140,150. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 22.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its position 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 valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 12,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,125,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 19,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,423,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of HLI stock opened at $130.65 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $133.10 and a 200-day moving average of $141.52. The stock has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.96. Houlihan Lokey has a 1-year low of $112.83 and a 1-year high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its earnings results 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 for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.06%.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank that provides financial advisory services to corporations, financial sponsors, governments and other institutions. Its principal activities include mergers and acquisitions, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring, and valuation and financial opinions.

The company advises clients on acquisitions, divestitures, strategic alternatives, recapitalizations, fairness opinions and other complex financial matters. Its restructuring business supports companies, creditors and other stakeholders dealing with distressed situations, while its valuation and financial advisory practice provides analyses related to financial reporting, tax, litigation and strategic planning.

Founded in 1972, Houlihan Lokey has expanded from its origins in the United States into an international advisory firm serving clients across North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and other global markets.