Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Reaches New 12-Month High at $157.58

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $157.58 and last traded at $156.77, with a volume of 3532 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $155.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HLI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $131.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $154.00 target price (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.25.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 0.5 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $142.65 and a 200 day moving average of $133.98. The company has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.62 and a beta of 0.67.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.22. The company had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.70 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 15.30%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 55.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Houlihan Lokey news, insider David A. Preiser sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total value of $2,664,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total value of $1,339,245.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David A. Preiser sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total value of $2,664,200.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,419 shares of company stock worth $5,297,213. Corporate insiders own 25.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HLI. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $581,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 168,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,257,000 after purchasing an additional 8,905 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,960,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,751,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.