Vista Finance LLC Acquires New Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Vista Finance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $348,000. Houlihan Lokey accounts for about 0.4% of Vista Finance LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 666.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 283,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,831,000 after purchasing an additional 246,705 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 341.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 307,304 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,366,000 after purchasing an additional 237,615 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter worth about $24,177,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $94,974,000 after purchasing an additional 149,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 693,109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $109,525,000 after purchasing an additional 132,516 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HLI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $182.72. 299,086 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 414,225. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.87 and a beta of 0.69. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $121.81 and a one year high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.51%.

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.