StockNews.com Downgrades Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms have also commented on HLI. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 1.3 %

HLI traded down $2.36 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $185.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 347,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,596. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.49. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $121.81 and a 1 year high of $192.10. The company has a market cap of $12.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is 43.51%.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 8,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,293,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 12.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

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.