Thomas Story & Son LLC Takes $5.99 Million Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• Thomas Story & Son LLC bought a new stake of 34,375 shares in Houlihan Lokey valued at about $5.99 million, representing roughly 2.2% of its portfolio and the firm's 20th largest holding.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but modestly positive: five analysts rate HLI a Buy and four a Hold, giving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of about $197.71.
• Houlihan Lokey recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.94 vs. $1.85), reported revenue up 13% year-over-year, has a market cap around $11.34 billion, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.60 (annualized yield ~1.5%).

Thomas Story & Son LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 34,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,988,000. Houlihan Lokey accounts for about 2.2% of Thomas Story & Son LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 64.4% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 179.2% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at $39,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $196.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.71.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

NYSE:HLI opened at $162.48 on Friday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.41 and a 1-year high of $211.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $153.13 and a 200 day moving average of $172.39. The firm has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.00.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.09. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 24.46%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is 36.87%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $71,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert A. Schriesheim sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.86, for a total transaction of $854,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,781,004.52. This trade represents a 15.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 22.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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