Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold"

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on HLI. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $192.20.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI traded down $2.56 during trading on Friday, reaching $180.00. 626,821 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 354,344. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93 and a beta of 0.83. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $171.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.06. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $133.48 and a 12-month high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $666.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.25 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $86,510.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total transaction of $1,431,109.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,122,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 550 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

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.