Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.16), Zacks reports. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The company had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $679.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Houlihan Lokey’s conference call:

• Record FY2026 results — Houlihan Lokey reported $2.6 billion in revenue (up 10%) and adjusted EPS of $7.56 (up 20%), and says it finished the year with a record backlog, pipeline and number of managing directors, supporting its long‑term growth story.
• Near‑term volatility and timing delays — Q4 was uneven ($636 million revenue) as geopolitical uncertainty and software‑sector volatility extended M&A timelines and pushed the closing of two larger restructuring deals beyond quarter end, which may moderate early FY2027 growth.
• Financial Restructuring outlook has strengthened — Management cited widening credit spreads, private‑credit dislocation and energy/software dislocations as tailwinds that have driven new mandates and lead it to expect elevated restructuring activity in fiscal 2027.
• Strong balance sheet and shareholder returns — The firm ended the quarter with about $1.4 billion in cash, repurchased ~300,000 shares in Q4 and the board raised the quarterly dividend 17% to $0.70, while keeping M&A as a top capital‑allocation priority.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE HLI traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $152.88. 1,049,492 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 674,656. The company has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.85. Houlihan Lokey has a one year low of $134.41 and a one year high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 38.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $71,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $71,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 22.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 14.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,008,000 after purchasing an additional 6,253 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 50.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after buying an additional 9,891 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at about $18,964,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,143,000 after buying an additional 22,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,033,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $160.00 target price on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.29.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.