Brokerages Set Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Price Target at $157.00

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $157.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $149.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,109,496.08. This represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,273,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $441,507,000 after purchasing an additional 62,314 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,087,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $416,434,000 after buying an additional 38,155 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $255,276,000 after purchasing an additional 21,106 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 970,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $153,405,000 after purchasing an additional 26,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 776,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,697,000 after acquiring an additional 45,205 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of HLI stock traded down $1.40 on Tuesday, reaching $185.57. 187,035 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 320,024. Houlihan Lokey has a 52 week low of $112.17 and a 52 week high of $192.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95 and a beta of 0.67. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $173.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.97.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 46.63%.

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.