Morgan Stanley Boosts Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Price Target to $163.00

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $163.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

HLI has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an underweight rating and a $149.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a market perform rating and issued a $154.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $153.00.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $158.25 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $151.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.50 and a beta of 0.67. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $94.67 and a fifty-two week high of $162.84.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.22. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.47%.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total transaction of $1,263,269.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total transaction of $30,498.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,067,582.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,717 shares of company stock worth $1,479,513 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 25.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 264.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 194.9% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.