Morgan Stanley Boosts Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Price Target to $201.00

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $201.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.59% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on HLI. StockNews.com raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

NYSE HLI opened at $180.13 on Wednesday. Houlihan Lokey has a 1 year low of $119.28 and a 1 year high of $192.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a PE ratio of 36.84 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 21.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,818,000 after purchasing an additional 6,483 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 399,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,111,000 after acquiring an additional 9,768 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,276,000 after acquiring an additional 21,106 shares during the period. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,133,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2,482.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,551,000 after acquiring an additional 9,433 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.