Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $171.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI opened at $184.16 on Tuesday. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $119.28 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10. The stock has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $179.23 and its 200 day moving average is $166.59.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 666.8% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 283,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,831,000 after acquiring an additional 246,705 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 341.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 307,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,366,000 after purchasing an additional 237,615 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter worth about $24,177,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 33.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,974,000 after purchasing an additional 149,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 23.6% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 693,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,525,000 after purchasing an additional 132,516 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.