Corton Capital Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,352 Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Key Points

• Corton Capital Inc. has acquired 1,352 shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI), valued at approximately $218,000, as part of their new position during the first quarter.
• Houlihan Lokey has reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.96, exceeding expectations of $1.61, with a revenue of $666.42 million, representing a 28.0% increase year-over-year.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.60, providing an annualized payout of $2.40, which indicates a yield of 1.22%.

Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 95,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,349,000 after purchasing an additional 10,879 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Motco acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,720,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total transaction of $1,431,109.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 0.4%

Houlihan Lokey stock traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $192.07. 329,235 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 407,039. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.78. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.99 and a 52 week high of $198.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.36 and a beta of 0.83.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 24.06%. The business had revenue of $605.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $573.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Houlihan Lokey's quarterly revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 40.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey 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.