Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires 3,542 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 17.4%, owning a total of 23,955 shares valued at approximately $4.31 million after purchasing 3,542 additional shares.
• Houlihan Lokey's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $2.14, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.69, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 17.8% to $605.35 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 40.40%.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,542 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $4,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Motco purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter worth $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 103.5% during 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. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 3,714.3% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $98,110.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 6,811 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.75, for a total transaction of $1,380,930.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,311 shares of company stock valued at $10,391,090 in the last ninety days. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.2%

HLI stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $208.87. 1,050,905 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 374,623. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.70. The company has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.16 and a beta of 0.86. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $137.99 and a one year high of $209.39.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $573.07 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 16.46%.Houlihan Lokey's revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.40%.

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.