Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 14,500 Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,739,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter worth about $87,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on HLI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $127.00 target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE HLI traded up $1.39 on Friday, reaching $123.77. 333,936 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 275,389. The firm has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $127.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.45. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.89 and a fifty-two week high of $133.80.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The company had revenue of $511.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $493.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is 54.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.94, for a total transaction of $128,940.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 25.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Houlihan Lokey 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.