Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Upgraded to “Peer Perform” at Wolfe Research

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wolfe Research from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on HLI. Zacks Research upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.43.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 3.6%

HLI stock opened at $134.15 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.83. The company has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $131.30 and a fifty-two week high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $679.22 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The company’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 45.2% during the third quarter. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda now owns 72,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,783,000 after buying an additional 22,400 shares in the last quarter. Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,862,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 174,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,868,000 after acquiring an additional 14,483 shares during the period. Prana Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 597.1% during the third quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 61,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,637,000 after acquiring an additional 52,720 shares during the period. Finally, Pier Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 44,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,664,000 after acquiring an additional 16,894 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Houlihan Lokey

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.