Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Upgrades Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) to Moderate Buy

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has $232.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock, up from their prior target price of $185.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

HLI stock traded up $3.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $197.53. The stock had a trading volume of 282,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,896. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $137.99 and a twelve month high of $198.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50-day moving average price is $179.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.37.

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

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $86,510.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670 in the last ninety days. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Motco purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 103.5% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 3,714.3% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

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.