Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.13 EPS

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13, Zacks reports. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $184.16. The stock had a trading volume of 445,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,847. The company’s 50 day moving average is $179.25 and its 200-day moving average is $166.29. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $119.28 and a 12-month high of $192.10. The company has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.69.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HLI. Morgan Stanley cut Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.40.

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.