Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,751,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 48,126 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $251,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,133,000 after purchasing an additional 84,757 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 2,723.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,199,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $208,934,000 after buying an additional 1,156,973 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,041,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,506,000 after buying an additional 41,470 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 962,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,617,000 after buying an additional 5,822 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 10.4% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 874,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,291,000 after buying an additional 82,002 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $164.00 price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Friday, July 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $164.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Houlihan Lokey from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.50.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

NYSE HLI opened at $138.83 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $140.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.70. 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 results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $511.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $602.38 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 7.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.70 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total transaction of $941,378.90. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 6,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,378.90. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.