Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $168.58 and last traded at $168.58, with a volume of 5044 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.45. The firm has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a PE ratio of 40.75 and a beta of 0.66.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22. The firm had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.70 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 55.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 a total of 9,717 shares of company stock worth $1,479,513 over the last 90 days. 25.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,345,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.3% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 27.7% during the second quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.