Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stock Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its Houlihan Lokey stake by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,736 shares and leaving it with 86,209 shares worth about $15.0 million.
• Houlihan Lokey reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.63 versus the $1.79 estimate and revenue of $635.64 million below expectations; revenue also fell 4.6% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 per share from $0.60, while analyst sentiment remained mixed with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $191.29.

Legal & General Group Plc cut its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,736 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.12% of Houlihan Lokey worth $15,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 169.1% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 30,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,375,000 after acquiring an additional 19,388 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at $381,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at $305,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $139.21 on Wednesday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.41 and a 12-month high of $211.78. The company has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.95. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $149.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.01.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The company had revenue of $635.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $679.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total value of $941,378.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 6,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,378.90. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $71,700.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,700. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 22.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $191.29.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm's core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.

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