Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Short Interest Update

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 764,000 shares, an increase of 28.9% from the February 13th total of 592,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 400,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,265,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $914,420,000 after purchasing an additional 98,495 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,281,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $569,830,000 after buying an additional 208,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,875,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,651,000 after buying an additional 161,647 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,276,000 after purchasing an additional 21,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $217,393,000 after buying an additional 20,354 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $162.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93 and a beta of 0.72. Houlihan Lokey has a fifty-two week low of $121.81 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.14.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLI has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $180.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.00.

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.