Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Lowered to Underweight Rating by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $200.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $171.00.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.40.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $180.09 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.70. Houlihan Lokey has a 12 month low of $112.17 and a 12 month high of $192.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a PE ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 46.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total transaction of $30,456.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,656.28. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 8,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,293,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 12.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 0.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 21,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 6.3% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 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.