Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) vs. Spindle (OTCMKTS:SPDL) Head to Head Review

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) and Spindle (OTCMKTS:SPDL) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.1% of Houlihan Lokey shares are held by institutional investors. 22.8% of Houlihan Lokey shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.6% of Spindle shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Houlihan Lokey and Spindle”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Houlihan Lokey	$2.39 billion	4.85	$399.71 million	$6.51	25.52
Spindle	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Houlihan Lokey has higher revenue and earnings than Spindle.

Profitability

This table compares Houlihan Lokey and Spindle’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Houlihan Lokey	16.91%	24.46%	14.44%
Spindle	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Houlihan Lokey and Spindle, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Houlihan Lokey	0	4	4	0	2.50
Spindle	0	0	0	0	0.00

Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus target price of $209.17, suggesting a potential upside of 25.91%. Given Houlihan Lokey’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Houlihan Lokey is more favorable than Spindle.

Summary

Houlihan Lokey beats Spindle on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Corporate Finance segment offers general financial advisory services; and advises public and private institutions on buy-side and sell-side transactions, leveraged loans, private mezzanine debt, high-yield debt, initial public offerings, follow-ons, convertibles, equity private placements, private equity, and liability management transactions, as well as advise financial sponsors on various transactions. The Financial Restructuring segment advises debtors, creditors, and other parties-in-interest related to recapitalization/deleveraging transactions. It also provides a range of advisory services, including structuring, negotiation, and confirmation of plans of reorganization; structuring and analysis of exchange offers; corporate viability assessment; dispute resolution and expert testimony; and procuring debtor-in-possession financing. The Financial and Valuation Advisory segment offers valuations of various assets, such as companies, illiquid debt and equity securities, and intellectual property. It also provides fairness opinions in connection with M&A and other transactions, solvency opinions in connection with corporate spin-offs and dividend recapitalizations, and other types of financial opinions. In addition, this segment offers dispute resolution services. It serves corporations, financial sponsors, and government agencies. The company was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About Spindle

Spindle, Inc. provides payment-processing services to merchants using its Catalyst Gateway. It also acts as an agent, independent contractor, or referral partner to broker merchants that it secures to other merchant processors for ongoing fees based on processing volume. The company serves small and medium-sized businesses. The company is based in Marco Island, Florida.