Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $190.81 and last traded at $190.81, with a volume of 91147 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com cut Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 0.1 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60 and a beta of 0.65.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,496.08. This trade represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total value of $155,290.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,400 shares of company stock worth $219,362 over the last three months. Company insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,104,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $654,300,000 after purchasing an additional 29,843 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,273,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,507,000 after purchasing an additional 62,314 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,087,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $416,434,000 after acquiring an additional 38,155 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,276,000 after acquiring an additional 21,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 970,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,405,000 after purchasing an additional 26,564 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.