Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Receives $192.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $183.40.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $192.00 price target (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $179.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upped 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of HLI opened at $151.31 on Monday. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $122.14 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10. The company has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.14.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.51%.

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.