Magnetar Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by 7.6% during the first quarter, holding 18,292 shares valued at $2,954,000.
• Houlihan Lokey reported a earnings per share (EPS) of $2.14 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.45, with revenues rising 17.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60, representing a 1.2% yield, with a payout ratio of 40.40% as of the most recent quarter.

Magnetar Financial LLC grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $2,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HLI. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 684,645 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at $81,420,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at $46,236,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1,946.8% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 275,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,486,000 after acquiring an additional 262,000 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at about $29,919,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HLI. Wall Street Zen cut Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock traded down $4.68 on Wednesday, reaching $191.56. 174,350 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 401,537. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $137.99 and a one year high of $201.63. The company has a market capitalization of $13.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $191.79 and a 200 day moving average of $175.00.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $605.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. Analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 40.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $7,998,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 22.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.