Comerica Bank Grows Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by 71.5% in Q1, holding 44,397 shares valued at approximately $7.17 million.
• Houlihan Lokey reported $2.14 EPS for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.69, along with a revenue growth of 17.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio of 40.40%.

Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 71.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,509 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.06% of Houlihan Lokey worth $7,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,872,000 after purchasing an additional 4,170 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at about $253,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 100.2% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 23,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,163,000 after buying an additional 11,995 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 620,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,725,000 after buying an additional 19,406 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $105,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:HLI traded down $2.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $196.36. 371,088 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 348,715. The company has a market cap of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.06 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $191.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.00. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $137.99 and a one year high of $201.63.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.45. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.46% and a return on equity of 23.75%. The firm had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $573.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HLI. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, July 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.40.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total value of $7,998,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 22.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.