Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI Stake Raised by Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 53.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,988 shares during the period. Houlihan Lokey accounts for about 2.3% of Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $2,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Motco bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 103.5% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE HLI opened at $199.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58 and a beta of 0.87. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.99 and a 1 year high of $211.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $198.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.62.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $605.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $573.07 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 16.46%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 40.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 6,811 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.75, for a total transaction of $1,380,930.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $7,998,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,311 shares of company stock worth $9,477,040. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Houlihan Lokey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $232.00 to $226.00 and set a “moderate buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.43.

Houlihan Lokey 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.