UBS Group Raises Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Price Target to $170.00

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its price objective upped by analysts at UBS Group from $157.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.78% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $131.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.33.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:HLI traded up $2.08 on Wednesday, hitting $150.74. 154,269 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 335,554. The company has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.27 and a beta of 0.67. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $94.67 and a 1 year high of $152.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $136.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.39.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The company had revenue of $514.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, insider David A. Preiser sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total transaction of $2,664,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total value of $1,339,245.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David A. Preiser sold 20,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total value of $2,664,200.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 25.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HLI. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 2nd quarter worth $439,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 264.5% during 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 period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 31,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.2% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 61,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.