Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Rating Increased to Hold at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on HLI. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $232.00 to $226.00 and set a “moderate buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.14.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE HLI opened at $179.09 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey has a 52-week low of $137.99 and a 52-week high of $211.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $183.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.39.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $659.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.08 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 24.17%. The business’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In related 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 the SEC website. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 64.4% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.