Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Price Target Increased to $148.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $131.00 to $148.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on HLI. UBS Group increased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JMP Securities reissued a market perform rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $148.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.5 %

HLI traded down $0.72 on Tuesday, hitting $143.87. 207,883 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 333,263. The company has a 50 day moving average of $135.26 and a 200-day moving average of $129.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78 and a beta of 0.67. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $94.67 and a 12-month high of $150.03.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $520.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.99 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.63 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, insider David A. Preiser sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total transaction of $2,664,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Houlihan Lokey news, insider David A. Preiser sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total transaction of $2,664,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total value of $1,339,245.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 194.9% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.