Values First Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Values First Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 36.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 487 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing 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. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of HLI stock opened at $177.69 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $177.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.18. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.81 and a 12-month high of $192.10. The firm has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.91 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 16.00%. As a group, research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.51%.

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.