Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

HLI has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $185.66 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.87. The firm has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.97 and a beta of 0.65. Houlihan Lokey has a 52-week low of $102.29 and a 52-week high of $190.66.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total transaction of $155,290.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total transaction of $155,290.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,496.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,917 shares of company stock valued at $1,513,129. 23.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 264.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter worth $38,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.