Brokerages Set Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Target Price at $174.20

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Reduce" from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $174.20.

A number of research analysts have commented on HLI shares. Morgan Stanley cut Houlihan Lokey from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total transaction of $33,616.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,496.08. This trade represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HLI. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,273,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $441,507,000 after purchasing an additional 62,314 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised 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 valued at $416,434,000 after buying an additional 38,155 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $255,276,000 after purchasing an additional 21,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 970,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $153,405,000 after buying an additional 26,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of HLI stock traded down $1.94 on Friday, hitting $174.29. The company had a trading volume of 176,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,758. The firm has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64 and a beta of 0.67. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $112.17 and a twelve month high of $192.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $179.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.54.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analysts' expectations of $537.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.