Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 8,900 Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ:HLNE)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased 8,900 shares of Hamilton Lane Inc. for about $1.32 million during the first quarter, highlighting significant institutional interest in the stock.
• Hamilton Lane's recent earnings report exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $1.31 and revenue of $196.73 million, indicating an 11.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, reflecting a 1.4% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 40.07%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ:HLNE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,323,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HLNE. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Hamilton Lane by 252.0% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 176 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Hamilton Lane in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hamilton Lane in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Hamilton Lane during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Hamilton Lane by 270.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 474 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLNE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Hamilton Lane from $190.00 to $157.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Hamilton Lane from $153.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hamilton Lane from $161.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Oppenheimer cut Hamilton Lane from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Hamilton Lane from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.14.

Hamilton Lane Stock Performance

HLNE stock traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $154.14. The company had a trading volume of 96,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 576,573. The company has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 4.83 and a current ratio of 4.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.78. Hamilton Lane Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.10 and a twelve month high of $203.72.

Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.33. Hamilton Lane had a net margin of 30.66% and a return on equity of 29.47%. The company had revenue of $196.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hamilton Lane Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Hamilton Lane Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Hamilton Lane's payout ratio is currently 41.54%.

Hamilton Lane Company Profile

Hamilton Lane Incorporated is a private equity firm specializing in early venture, emerging growth, turnaround, middle market, mature, mid-venture, bridge, buyout, distressed/vulture, loan, mezzanine in growth capital companies. It prefers to invest in energy, industrials, consumer discretionary, health care, real estate, information technology, utilities, and consumer services.