Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from five research firms, with an average 12-month price target set at $210.60.
• The company reported $605.35 million in revenue for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analyst estimates and marking a year-over-year increase of 17.8%.
• Insiders have sold over 47,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock recently, indicating notable activity in the company's ownership.

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $210.60.

HLI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, 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.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $205.89 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.61. The firm has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.66 and a beta of 0.86. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $137.99 and a 1 year high of $211.78.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 6,811 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.75, for a total transaction of $1,380,930.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $98,110.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,311 shares of company stock worth $9,477,040. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter worth $619,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,895,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter worth $210,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 404.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 63,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,725,000 after purchasing an additional 50,847 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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