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HLI vs. MCO: Houlihan Lokey vs. Moody's Stock Comparison

How do Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO) both belong to the Capital Markets industry, though HLI is classified under Investment Banking & Brokerage while MCO falls under Financial Exchanges & Data.

Company profile comparison for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO)
Profile ItemHLIMCO
NameHoulihan Lokey, Inc.Moody's Corporation
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupFinancial ServicesFinancial Services
GICS IndustryCapital MarketsCapital Markets
GICS Sub-IndustryInvestment Banking & BrokerageFinancial Exchanges & Data
Market Capitalization10.13 billion USD87.19 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateAugust 13, 2015October 31, 1994
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

HLI
MCO
GSPC
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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricHLIMCO
Total Return (1Y)-16.23%5.02%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)15.13%15.27%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)6.74%6.21%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

HLI
MCO
GSPC
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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricHLIMCO
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)31.00%28.61%
Beta (5Y)0.871.28
Max Drawdown (5Y)-40.30%-40.93%
Avg. Volume (3M)816.85K817.57K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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HLI and MCO are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricHLIMCO
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.660.03
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.910.04

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Moody's (MCO) at 76.74% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 17.29%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

HLI

Financial Services industry group

17.29%

Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
HLI
17.29%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

76.74%

MCO
76.74%
Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%
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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Moody's (MCO) at 35.26% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 15.80%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

HLI

Financial Services industry group

15.80%

Max
62.84%
Q3
28.05%
HLI
15.80%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

35.26%

Max
62.84%
MCO
35.26%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%
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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 24.42% and Moody's (MCO) at 46.27% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

HLI

Financial Services industry group

24.42%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
Median
30.09%
HLI
24.42%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

46.27%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
MCO
46.27%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%
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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricHLIMCO
ROE (TTM)17.29%76.74%
ROA (TTM)10.38%15.56%
Net Margin (TTM)15.80%35.26%
Operating Margin (TTM)24.42%46.27%
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 9.55% and Moody's (MCO) at 8.89% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 6.87% and Moody's (MCO) at 21.40% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricHLIMCO
Revenue Growth (YoY)9.55%8.89%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)13.10%12.17%
EPS Growth (YoY)6.87%21.40%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)16.05%22.48%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Houlihan Lokey (HLI) in Financial Services and Moody's (MCO) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Houlihan Lokey (HLI) in Financial Services and Moody's (MCO) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricHLIMCO
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 1.77% and Moody's (MCO) at 0.78% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

HLI

Financial Services industry group

1.77%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
HLI
1.77%
Median
1.09%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

0.78%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
Median
1.09%
MCO
0.78%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 43.62% and Moody's (MCO) at 24.59% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

HLI

Financial Services industry group

43.62%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
HLI
43.62%
Median
25.77%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

24.59%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
MCO
24.59%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricHLIMCO
Dividend Yield (TTM)1.77%0.78%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)43.62%24.59%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 24.47 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Moody's (MCO) at 30.85 sits in the richer quartile — MCO needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

HLI

Financial Services industry group

24.47

Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
HLI
24.47
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16

MCO

Financial Services industry group

30.85

Max
45.85
MCO
30.85
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16
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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 3.96 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Moody's (MCO) at 10.66 clears its benchmark range — MCO looks notably rich on sales.

HLI

Financial Services industry group

3.96

Max
9.23
Q3
4.57
HLI
3.96
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55

MCO

Financial Services industry group

10.66

MCO
10.66
Max
9.23
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55
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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 4.39 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Moody's (MCO) at 26.68 prices even higher, above its industry range.

HLI

Financial Services industry group

4.39

Max
7.79
HLI
4.39
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39

MCO

Financial Services industry group

26.68

MCO
26.68
Max
7.79
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39
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Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricHLIMCO
P/E Ratio (TTM)24.4730.85
P/S Ratio (TTM)3.9610.66
P/B Ratio (MRQ)4.3926.68
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----