Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 81,182 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 15.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 616,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,182 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $88,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 362.1% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,703,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,133,000 after purchasing an additional 84,757 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 2,723.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,199,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $208,934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,973 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,041,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,506,000 after purchasing an additional 41,470 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 962,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,617,000 after purchasing an additional 5,822 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 4.6%

Shares of HLI stock opened at $138.83 on Thursday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.72 and a 12 month high of $211.78. The stock has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.70.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $511.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $602.38 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The firm’s revenue was down 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HLI shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, US Capital Advisors set a $187.00 target price on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total value of $941,378.90. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 6,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,378.90. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm’s core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.