Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Reaches New 52-Week High at $135.17

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $135.17 and last traded at $133.50, with a volume of 25125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $127.00 target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $126.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.23.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $511.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $493.02 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 14.90%. Houlihan Lokey's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.94, for a total transaction of $128,940.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 25.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 624.8% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 6,267 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth about $690,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 45,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 16,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter valued at about $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.