Azora Capital LP Acquires New Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 83,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,230,000. Azora Capital LP owned 0.12% of Houlihan Lokey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HLI. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 24,074.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 501,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,647,000 after purchasing an additional 499,535 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 666.8% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 283,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,831,000 after purchasing an additional 246,705 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 33.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,974,000 after purchasing an additional 149,114 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 23.6% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 693,109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,525,000 after purchasing an additional 132,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at $10,141,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HLI shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $149.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.8 %

HLI stock traded down $1.55 during trading on Monday, hitting $186.97. The company had a trading volume of 221,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 320,267. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.67 and a beta of 0.65. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.17 and a 52-week high of $192.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.59.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The company had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is 46.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total value of $155,290.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total transaction of $30,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,656.28. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,400 shares of company stock worth $219,362 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Company 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.