New York State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• The New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by 28.9% in Q2, now owning 23,104 shares valued at $4,158,000.
• Analyst ratings for Houlihan Lokey vary, with one strong buy, five buy, and four hold ratings, while the current consensus price target is $212.43.
• Houlihan Lokey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 40.40%.

New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 28.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,178 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $4,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,306,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $857,017,000 after purchasing an additional 41,030 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,143,000 after purchasing an additional 22,553 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 3.0% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 402,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,046,000 after purchasing an additional 11,709 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 12.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 344,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,654,000 after purchasing an additional 37,300 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at $46,236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HLI shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research cut Houlihan Lokey from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $7,998,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 6,811 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.75, for a total value of $1,380,930.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,311 shares of company stock valued at $9,477,040 in the last three months. 22.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

HLI opened at $192.68 on Tuesday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.99 and a 12 month high of $211.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.44 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $198.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.41.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.45. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 16.46%.The firm had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $573.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Houlihan Lokey's revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is presently 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.

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