Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Houlihan Lokey shares reached a new 52-week high of $211.78, closing at $209.15 with trading volume of 365,217 shares.
• Analysts have increased price targets for Houlihan Lokey, with recommendations ranging from a "hold" to an "overweight" rating, resulting in a consensus price target of $210.60.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $2.14 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60, yielding 1.1%.

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $211.78 and last traded at $209.15, with a volume of 365217 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HLI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.60.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $14.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $196.86 and a 200-day moving average of $178.41.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $7,998,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 6,811 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.75, for a total value of $1,380,930.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,311 shares of company stock valued at $10,391,090. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $126,723,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 39,574.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 684,645 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter valued at about $81,420,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 194.9% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 546,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,314,000 after purchasing an additional 361,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,236,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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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