Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on HLI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on 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 upped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $154.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI traded up $1.98 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $186.99. The company had a trading volume of 328,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,555. The stock has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.24 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.82. Houlihan Lokey has a one year low of $102.29 and a one year high of $190.66.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The company had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. Houlihan Lokey’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total value of $30,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,656.28. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,400 shares of company stock worth $219,362. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 24,074.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 501,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,647,000 after buying an additional 499,535 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 666.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 283,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,831,000 after purchasing an additional 246,705 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,974,000 after acquiring an additional 149,114 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 693,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,525,000 after acquiring an additional 132,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter worth about $13,230,000. 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.