Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Now Covered by Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America began coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $164.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

HLI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. US Capital Advisors set a $187.00 price target on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $193.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Houlihan Lokey from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.50.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.8%

HLI traded down $1.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $135.40. 1,067,740 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 786,445. Houlihan Lokey has a one year low of $131.30 and a one year high of $211.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $143.18 and its 200 day moving average is $156.41. The firm has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.95.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The company had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $679.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.02%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total transaction of $941,378.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 6,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,378.90. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,008,000 after acquiring an additional 6,253 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 9,891 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter worth $18,964,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,143,000 after purchasing an additional 22,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at about $1,033,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Houlihan Lokey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America initiated coverage on Houlihan Lokey (HLI) with a Buy rating and a $164 price target, suggesting upside from the current share price. Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded HLI from Underperform to Peer Perform, which removes a bearish call on the stock and may ease downside sentiment. Wolfe Research Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods still rates Houlihan Lokey Outperform and sees a target of $160, indicating further upside despite trimming its prior target. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating on HLI and lowered its price target only modestly to $187, which still points to substantial upside from current levels. Morgan Stanley price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Houlihan Lokey announced it will release fiscal 2027 first-quarter results on July 29 and hold a conference call the same day; this is a routine event, but it sets up a near-term catalyst. Q1 FY2027 earnings release date
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also said it bolstered its equity capital solutions capabilities with a senior hire, which may help the business but is not an immediate stock-moving event. Senior hire announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms trimmed price targets on HLI, including KBW and Morgan Stanley, which can weigh on sentiment even though both firms remain constructive on the shares. Price target reductions

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm’s core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.