Strs Ohio Acquires New Shares in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by purchasing 59,125 shares valued at approximately $9.5 million, representing about 0.08% ownership in the company.
• Houlihan Lokey recently reported quarterly earnings, delivering $2.14 EPS for the quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.69, with a revenue increase of 17.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, indicating a 1.2% yield, with stockholder payments scheduled for September 15th.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 59,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,549,000. Strs Ohio owned about 0.08% of Houlihan Lokey as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HLI. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Motco purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 103.5% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3,714.3% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLI traded up $3.88 during trading on Thursday, reaching $208.29. 254,440 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 377,252. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.99 and a 52-week high of $209.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $195.84 and a 200-day moving average of $177.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07 and a beta of 0.86.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 firm earned $1.22 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,380,930.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total value of $7,998,000.00. 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 90 days. Insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, July 11th. Three research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.60.

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.