Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $520.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.99 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 EPS.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of HLI traded up $2.53 on Friday, reaching $137.12. The stock had a trading volume of 150,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,588. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.66. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $86.20 and a 12-month high of $137.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.38 and a beta of 0.67.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 54.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $127.00 price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.94, for a total transaction of $128,940.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 25.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.