Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

HLI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $192.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $178.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.04 and a beta of 0.69. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $121.81 and a 12-month high of $192.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.25.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is currently 43.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

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.