Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Price Target to $228.00

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its target price decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $230.00 to $228.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

HLI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $193.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.43.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $176.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey has a 12 month low of $137.99 and a 12 month high of $211.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.44.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $659.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.08 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 24.17% and a net margin of 16.62%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 5,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 64.4% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 3.3% in the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 16.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.