Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Stock Rating Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) was upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HLI. Wall Street Zen lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.83.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $201.24 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $198.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.80. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $137.99 and a fifty-two week high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $605.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $573.07 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 16.46%.Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 6,811 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.75, for a total value of $1,380,930.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $98,110.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,311 shares of company stock worth $9,477,040 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter worth $54,000. Impact Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at $81,420,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

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.