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 analysts, with an average target price of $212.43.
• The company reported earnings of $2.14 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.69, alongside a 17.8% increase in year-over-year revenue.
• Houlihan Lokey declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, resulting in a 1.2% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 40.40%.

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $212.4286.

Several research firms recently commented on HLI. Zacks Research cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE HLI opened at $197.22 on Friday. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $137.99 and a 1 year high of $211.78. The business's fifty day moving average is $198.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total value of $7,998,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,311 shares of company stock worth $9,477,040. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HLI. Amundi boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 404.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 63,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,725,000 after buying an additional 50,847 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position 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 valued at $2,895,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at about $210,000. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 3.3% in the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 31.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 4,056 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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