Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 45.9% in the 1st quarter, owning 42,488 shares valued at approximately $6.86 million.
• Houlihan Lokey's latest earnings report showed $2.14 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.69, with a 17.8% year-over-year revenue increase to $605.35 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60, with an annualized yield of 1.3%, set to be paid to investors of record on September 2nd.

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 45.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,374 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC owned about 0.06% of Houlihan Lokey worth $6,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $857,017,000 after purchasing an additional 41,030 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,281,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $569,830,000 after purchasing an additional 208,851 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $217,393,000 after purchasing an additional 20,354 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,041,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $180,815,000 after purchasing an additional 573,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 772,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $134,195,000 after acquiring an additional 73,566 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of HLI traded down $2.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $194.11. 304,877 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 403,693. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.99 and a 1-year high of $198.78. The company has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a PE ratio of 32.68 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $186.18 and a 200 day moving average of $173.71.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total transaction of $1,431,109.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,508 shares of company stock worth $2,431,670 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Profile

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.