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

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

HLI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley cut Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI traded up $3.58 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $184.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 445,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,978. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $119.28 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $179.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.59. The company has a market capitalization of $12.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.69.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. On average, equities analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter valued at $76,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.