MQS Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

MQS Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 55.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 963 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $486,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 2,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HLI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $232.00 to $226.00 and set a “moderate buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $98,110.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 6,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.75, for a total value of $1,380,930.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,311 shares of company stock valued at $9,477,040. Insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of HLI opened at $199.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.58 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $198.49 and a 200-day moving average of $184.62. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.99 and a 52 week high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $573.07 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 16.46%.The business’s revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.40%.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.