Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Chairman Irwin Gold Sells 6,811 Shares

Key Points

• Irwin Gold, Chairman of Houlihan Lokey, sold $1,380,930.25 worth of stock by offloading 6,811 shares at an average price of $202.75 on September 16th.
• The company's earnings report for the last quarter showed earnings of $2.14 per share, surpassing estimates by $0.45, with revenue up 17.8% year-over-year.
• Following recent trades, Houlihan Lokey's stock has seen an upgraded price target from analysts, with some projecting a target between $210.60 and $232.00.

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) Chairman Irwin Gold sold 6,811 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.75, for a total value of $1,380,930.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Irwin Gold also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 30th, Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total value of $914,050.00.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:HLI traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $208.87. 1,050,905 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 374,623. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.99 and a 1-year high of $209.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.69 billion, a PE ratio of 35.16 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $196.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.59.

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

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 40.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HLI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter worth about $126,723,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 39,574.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 686,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,500,000 after acquiring an additional 684,645 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter valued at $81,420,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 194.9% in the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 546,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,314,000 after purchasing an additional 361,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at about $46,236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.60.

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.