Short Interest in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Drops By 5.2%

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) saw a large drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 859,400 shares, a drop of 5.2% from the August 15th total of 906,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 293,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

HLI stock opened at $158.32 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $149.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.02. Houlihan Lokey has a one year low of $94.67 and a one year high of $160.62. The stock has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52 and a beta of 0.67.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22. The company had revenue of $514.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.70 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HLI shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $148.00 to $146.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.60.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total transaction of $1,339,245.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total transaction of $1,339,245.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total transaction of $30,498.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,067,582.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,619 shares of company stock valued at $2,818,759 in the last ninety days. 25.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 264.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 194.9% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. 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.