Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Short Interest Up 18.3% in December

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 819,900 shares, an increase of 18.3% from the December 15th total of 692,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 325,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

HLI traded up $1.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $181.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 326,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,812. The stock has a market cap of $12.59 billion, a PE ratio of 37.06 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $179.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.26. Houlihan Lokey has a twelve month low of $116.67 and a twelve month high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 46.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $171.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.40.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 24,074.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 501,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,647,000 after buying an additional 499,535 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 666.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 283,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,831,000 after purchasing an additional 246,705 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter worth $24,177,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,974,000 after purchasing an additional 149,114 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 693,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,525,000 after purchasing an additional 132,516 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.