Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Price Target to $160.00

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Houlihan Lokey’s price target from $172 to $160 while keeping an “outperform” rating, implying about 17% upside from the prior close.
• Despite the cut, the broader analyst view remains mixed but constructive: Houlihan Lokey has a Moderate Buy consensus, with five Buy and five Hold ratings and an average price target of $188.62.
• The company recently missed earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter, and its chairman sold shares in May, while the stock was trading near $136.66 on Friday, below both its 50-day and 200-day averages.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $172.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective points to a potential upside of 17.08% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $193.00 to $187.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. US Capital Advisors set a $187.00 price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.62.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 1.7%

Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $136.66 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.55. The stock has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $131.30 and a 12-month high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $679.22 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total value of $941,378.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 6,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,378.90. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 103.4% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm's core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.

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