Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ:HLNE) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Hamilton Lane has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with six buy ratings and three hold ratings among nine research firms. The average 12-month price target is about $134.29.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share from $0.54, putting the annualized yield at about 2.8%. Hamilton Lane also launched a $100 million stock repurchase program.
• Recent insider and institutional activity has been positive, including purchases by the COO and chairman, while institutional investors continue to hold the vast majority of the shares. Hamilton Lane also reported EPS of $1.49 last quarter, beating analyst estimates.

Shares of Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ:HLNE - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $134.2857.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HLNE shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hamilton Lane from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Hamilton Lane from $159.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price target on Hamilton Lane in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hamilton Lane in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Hamilton Lane from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Andrea Anigati Kramer purchased 1,283 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.46 per share, for a total transaction of $99,381.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 87,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,766,131. This trade represents a 1.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Hartley R. Rogers purchased 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $90.05 per share, with a total value of $4,952,750.00. Following the purchase, the chairman owned 55,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,952,750. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 95,039 shares of company stock worth $8,100,739 in the last 90 days. 22.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Hamilton Lane by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,751,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,109,000 after buying an additional 239,397 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Hamilton Lane by 7.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,534,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,880,000 after buying an additional 104,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hamilton Lane by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,293,854 shares of the company's stock worth $174,458,000 after acquiring an additional 18,296 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hamilton Lane by 1.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,103,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,725,000 after acquiring an additional 18,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Hamilton Lane by 418.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,060,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,946,000 after purchasing an additional 856,112 shares during the period. 97.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hamilton Lane Stock Performance

Shares of Hamilton Lane stock opened at $85.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.87 and a 200-day moving average of $104.66. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.16. Hamilton Lane has a 52-week low of $71.88 and a 52-week high of $161.13.

Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.06. Hamilton Lane had a net margin of 32.83% and a return on equity of 25.98%. The business had revenue of $193.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.05 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Hamilton Lane's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Hamilton Lane will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hamilton Lane Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from Hamilton Lane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Hamilton Lane's payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

Hamilton Lane announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hamilton Lane Company Profile

Hamilton Lane is a global private markets investment management firm specializing in the full spectrum of private equity and credit strategies. The company partners with institutional investors and wealth managers to design, implement and manage customized portfolios in primary fund investing, secondary market transactions and direct co-investment opportunities. By combining investment selection, portfolio construction and ongoing monitoring, Hamilton Lane seeks to optimize risk-adjusted returns across diverse private markets exposures.

Founded in 1991, Hamilton Lane has developed a track record of investment and advisory services in private markets.

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