Houlihan Lokey Q1 EPS Estimate Lowered by Seaport Res Ptn

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) - Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Houlihan Lokey in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, July 14th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $1.71 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.78. The consensus estimate for Houlihan Lokey's current full-year earnings is $5.98 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Houlihan Lokey's FY2028 earnings at $9.35 EPS.

HLI has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of HLI traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $196.09. The company had a trading volume of 287,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,690. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69 and a beta of 0.83. Houlihan Lokey has a 52-week low of $137.99 and a 52-week high of $198.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $666.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $628.25 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The business's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,306,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $857,017,000 after purchasing an additional 41,030 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,281,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $569,830,000 after purchasing an additional 208,851 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,875,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $325,651,000 after purchasing an additional 161,647 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $217,393,000 after purchasing an additional 20,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,041,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $180,815,000 after purchasing an additional 573,745 shares during the last quarter. 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.