Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE) Trading Down 4.7% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Hamilton Lane shares fell 4.7% after Oppenheimer trimmed its price target from $176 to $174, even while maintaining an outperform rating. The stock traded around $81.81, well below its previous close of $85.85.
• Several other analysts have also cut price targets recently, though the overall view remains positive with six Buy ratings and three Hold ratings. MarketBeat’s consensus target is $134.29, implying Wall Street still sees upside from current levels.
• The company has some supportive fundamentals: it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.60 from $0.54 and approved a $100 million share buyback. Hamilton Lane also beat EPS estimates in its latest quarter, though revenue came in below expectations.

Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ:HLNE - Get Free Report) was down 4.7% on Monday after Oppenheimer lowered their price target on the stock from $176.00 to $174.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Hamilton Lane traded as low as $82.52 and last traded at $81.8110. 43,053 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 830,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.85.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Hamilton Lane from $166.00 to $148.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Hamilton Lane from $148.00 to $128.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hamilton Lane in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Hamilton Lane in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Hamilton Lane from $159.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Andrea Anigati Kramer bought 1,283 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $77.46 per share, with a total value of $99,381.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 87,350 shares in the company, valued at $6,766,131. This represents a 1.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Hartley R. Rogers bought 38,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $78.49 per share, with a total value of $3,005,382.10. Following the purchase, the chairman owned 93,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,358,908.44. This represents a 69.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 95,039 shares of company stock valued at $8,100,739 in the last 90 days. 22.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hamilton Lane

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Hamilton Lane by 145.9% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,195,000 after buying an additional 58,291 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hamilton Lane by 148.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,085,850 shares of the company's stock worth $145,844,000 after buying an additional 648,588 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Hamilton Lane in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,855,000. Danske Bank A S lifted its stake in shares of Hamilton Lane by 19,024.0% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 19,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,569,000 after acquiring an additional 19,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Hamilton Lane by 541.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,632,000 after acquiring an additional 60,542 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.40% of the company's stock.

Hamilton Lane Trading Down 4.3%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $82.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.43. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.16.

Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 25.98% and a net margin of 32.83%.The business had revenue of $193.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Hamilton Lane Inc. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hamilton Lane Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 18th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 18th. This is a positive change from Hamilton Lane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hamilton Lane's payout ratio is presently 40.61%.

Hamilton Lane announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 21st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership 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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