Bank of Nova Scotia Makes New Investment in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has acquired 4,599 shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. valued at approximately $743,000, marking a new investment position in the firm.
• Houlihan Lokey reported an EPS of $2.14 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.69, and the company's revenues grew by 17.8% year-over-year.
• The firm has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.3%, to be paid on September 15th to shareholders of record.

Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $743,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HLI. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Motco acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 103.5% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 744.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total value of $914,050.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total value of $86,510.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,508 shares of company stock worth $2,431,670 over the last ninety days. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of HLI stock traded up $3.33 on Tuesday, hitting $193.78. The company had a trading volume of 102,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,147. The firm has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.59 and a beta of 0.86. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.99 and a twelve month high of $198.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $184.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.32.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is 40.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLI has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $192.00 target price (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

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.