Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Stock Price

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $201.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $192.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 2.1 %

HLI opened at $180.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $179.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.69. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $119.28 and a 12-month high of $192.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.84 and a beta of 0.69.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share 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 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 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.