Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Raised to Overweight at Wells Fargo & Company

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $179.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $180.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 15.82% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $192.00 price target (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $194.20.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $154.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.50 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $175.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.96.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

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.