Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Stock Breaks Below 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

by · The Markets Daily

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI – Get Free Report)’s stock price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.50 and traded as low as $126.02. Houlihan Lokey shares last traded at $126.5670, with a volume of 801,603 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HLI. US Capital Advisors set a $187.00 target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $161.00 to $147.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $153.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.38.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 1.4%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $131.31 and its 200 day moving average is $140.05. The firm has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.29). Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.10% and a return on equity of 20.20%. The business had revenue of $511.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.15, for a total value of $140,150.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,150. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 22.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 356.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 78,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,531,000 after buying an additional 61,321 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.7% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,726,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter worth $348,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Houlihan Lokey

(Get Free Report)

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank that provides financial advisory services to corporations, institutions, governments and other organizations. The firm focuses on complex strategic, financial and restructuring matters and is known for its independent advisory model.

Its principal businesses include corporate finance, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Services include mergers and acquisitions advice, capital-raising and other strategic transactions, restructuring and liability management, fairness opinions, solvency analysis, financial reporting valuations, and transaction opinions.

Founded in 1972, Houlihan Lokey serves clients through offices across North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.

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