Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on HLI. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $178.27. 356,432 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,596. The company has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.74. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $121.81 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, research analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HLI. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at about $143,559,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,047,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,041,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $180,815,000 after acquiring an additional 573,745 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 731.6% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 347,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $60,341,000 after acquiring an additional 305,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 666.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 283,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,831,000 after acquiring an additional 246,705 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% 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.