Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $189.19 and last traded at $189.02, with a volume of 62217 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $185.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.00.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.98 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.61.

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

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total transaction of $1,263,269.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,496.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total transaction of $1,263,269.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,917 shares of company stock worth $1,513,129. Insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 264.5% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.