Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

HLI has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $185.04 on Wednesday. Houlihan Lokey has a one year low of $121.81 and a one year high of $192.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $178.22 and its 200 day moving average is $168.33. The firm has a market cap of $12.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31 and a beta of 0.69.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 16.00%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.91 EPS 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 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is 43.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Hedge funds and other 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.