Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.00.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total transaction of $1,431,109.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,818,000 after buying an additional 6,483 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at $1,657,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1,447.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 19,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,456,000 after buying an additional 18,617 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

HLI stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $174.48. 130,781 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 352,073. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $127.14 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $163.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.68. The company has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.31 and a beta of 0.82.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $666.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $628.25 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The firm's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is 41.24%.

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.