Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has increased its price target for Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) from $192.00 to $213.00, indicating an 8.10% potential upside.
• Other analysts have also upgraded their ratings, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising their target to $232.00 while maintaining a "moderate buy" rating.
• In Q2, Houlihan Lokey reported $2.14 earnings per share, exceeding estimates, and showed a 17.8% year-over-year revenue increase.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $192.00 to $213.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.10% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.60.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $197.03 on Monday. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $137.99 and a 12-month high of $201.63. The company has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.17 and a beta of 0.86. The company's fifty day moving average is $192.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.30.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.45. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.46% and a return on equity of 23.75%. The business had revenue of $605.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $573.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Houlihan Lokey's revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $7,998,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total transaction of $98,110.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,500 shares of company stock worth $9,010,160. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 14.5% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. American Trust purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter valued at $346,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter valued at $608,000. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 7.5% in the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 7,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 43.5% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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