Bayforest Capital Ltd Purchases 3,587 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by 141.9% in the 1st quarter, owning 6,115 shares worth approximately $988,000.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Houlihan Lokey, with Wells Fargo setting a new target of $209.00 and Morgan Stanley at $213.00, both maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Houlihan Lokey declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60, translating to an annualized yield of 1.2%, to be paid on September 15th.

Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 141.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,587 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,306,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $857,017,000 after buying an additional 41,030 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $217,393,000 after buying an additional 20,354 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 39,574.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 686,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,500,000 after buying an additional 684,645 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at $81,420,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,143,000 after buying an additional 22,553 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.60.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

NYSE HLI traded down $2.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $205.24. 342,286 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 388,850. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.37. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.99 and a 1 year high of $208.50. The company has a market cap of $14.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.55 and a beta of 0.86.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.45. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 16.46%.The business had revenue of $605.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $573.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $98,110.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,500 shares of company stock worth $9,010,160. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.