Short Interest in Hamilton Lane Incorporated (NASDAQ:HLNE) Rises By 67.1%

Hamilton Lane Incorporated (NASDAQ:HLNE) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,600,000 shares, a growth of 67.1% from the December 15th total of 957,300 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 395,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Hamilton Lane Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HLNE traded down $1.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $148.50. The stock had a trading volume of 140,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,410. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 3.37 and a current ratio of 3.37. The stock has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12 and a beta of 1.24. Hamilton Lane has a one year low of $103.42 and a one year high of $203.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $170.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.02.

Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. Hamilton Lane had a net margin of 28.03% and a return on equity of 35.59%. The firm had revenue of $150.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Hamilton Lane will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hamilton Lane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hamilton Lane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HLNE shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hamilton Lane from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Hamilton Lane from $167.00 to $158.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Hamilton Lane from $194.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Hamilton Lane from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Hamilton Lane from $134.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $168.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hamilton Lane

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP grew its position in Hamilton Lane by 316.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Hamilton Lane by 24.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Hamilton Lane by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hamilton Lane in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Hamilton Lane during the 3rd quarter valued at $127,000. Institutional investors own 97.40% of the company’s stock.

About Hamilton Lane

Hamilton Lane Incorporated is a private equity firm specializing in early venture, emerging growth, turnaround, middle market, mature, mid-venture, bridge, buyout, distressed/vulture, loan, mezzanine in growth capital companies. It prefers to invest in energy, industrials, consumer discretionary, health care, real estate, information technology, utilities, and consumer services.