Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $185.04 on Wednesday. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $121.81 and a 1 year high of $192.10. The company has a market cap of $12.86 billion, a PE ratio of 35.31 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $178.22 and its 200 day moving average is $168.33.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (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%. Analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,818,000 after buying an additional 6,483 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 399,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,111,000 after buying an additional 9,768 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,276,000 after buying an additional 21,106 shares during the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter valued at $5,133,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 2,482.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,551,000 after buying an additional 9,433 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.