CLUS vs PIPR vs HLI Stock Comparison

Cluster Group Holdings, Piper Sandler Companies and Houlihan Lokey Prices as of Oct 22, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PIPR Piper Sandler Companies
$64.67 -10.7% 1M -23.8% 1Y
Market cap
$4.39B
P/E
14.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.12B
Div. yield
0.03%
Investment Banking Financial Services
2 wins
HLI Houlihan Lokey, Inc.
$131.38 +1.1% 1M -33.3% 1Y
Market cap
$8.75B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Investment Banking Financial Services
1 win

Head to Head

5 decided of 12

Piper Sandler Companies leads on 2 of the 12 questions below (Piper Sandler Companies 2, Cluster Group Holdings 2, Houlihan Lokey 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLUSPIPRHLILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.00B $4.39B $8.75B HLI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -1,146,093x 14.3x — –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 13.5x 19.6x PIPR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +32.1% — –
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 14.5% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 23.1% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.6x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months 0.0% -23.8% -33.3% CLUS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -39.1%/yr +9.8%/yr +4.9%/yr PIPR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 0.0% 36.1% 31.4% CLUS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 83/100 — –

Percentile Scorecard

CLUSPIPRHLI

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCLUSPIPRHLI
Valuation – 93 #8 of 97 –
Growth 78 #16 of 69 97 #3 of 69 –
Profitability – 78 #16 of 70 –
Financial Health – 92 #9 of 101 –
Shareholder Returns – 56 #18 of 40 72 #12 of 40
Overall – 83 –
  • CLUS ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • PIPR ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • HLI ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCLUSPIPRHLISPY
1 month 0.0%-10.7%+1.1% -1.0%
3 months 0.0%-15.0%-6.3% +2.9%
6 months 0.0%-25.5%-16.8% +6.4%
Year to date 0.0%-23.9%-24.6% +11.4%
1 year 0.0%-23.8%-33.3% +13.1%
3 years -28.6%+92.0%+33.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year -10.6%+24.3%+10.2% +21.5%
5 years -91.6%+59.6%+27.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -39.1%+9.8%+4.9% +10.9%
10 years +33.3%+401.8%+430.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +2.9%+17.5%+18.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCLUSPIPRHLISPY
Volatility, 1Y 0.0%36.1%31.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y —40.8%35.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.001.300.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y —-0.66-1.06 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -99.5%-45.6%-41.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-31.6%-35.0% -2.5%
52-week high $200.00$94.52$202.25 $779.14
52-week low $200.00$63.48$123.39 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCLUSPIPRHLI
P/E now vs peer median -1,146,093xmedian 29.4x 14.2xmedian 29.4x —median 29.4x
P/S now vs peer median —median 2.8x 2.1xmedian 2.8x —median 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 12.8x 7.9xmedian 12.8x —median 12.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 15.9x 9.0xmedian 15.9x —median 15.9x
P/B now vs peer median -105,257xmedian 2.5x 2.8xmedian 2.5x 3.9xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.51 0.27median 0.51 —median 0.51

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCLUSPIPRHLI
Revenue – $2.12B –
Operating income -$50.23K – –
Net income -$6.98K $363.85M –
Free cash flow – $487.00M –
EPS (diluted) $0.00 $4.31 –
Cash & equivalents – $304.23M $1.19B
Total debt – $60.00M –
Shares (diluted) 40.00M 71.24M 68.43M
Enterprise value $8.00B $2.82B $4.78B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCLUSPIPRHLI
P/E -1,146,093x 14.2x –
P/FCF – 9.0x –
P/Operating cash flow – 8.6x –
P/S – 2.1x –
P/B -105,257x 2.8x 3.9x
P/Tangible book -105,257x 3.0x 4.3x
EV/EBITDA – 7.9x –
EV/EBIT -159,282x 8.4x –
EV/Revenue – 1.9x –
EV/FCF – 8.4x –
EV/Operating cash flow – 8.1x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.27 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLUSPIPRHLI
Revenue growth (1Y) – 32.1% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 17.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -16.4% – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) 83.8% 93.1% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 53.4% –
EPS growth (1Y) 98.0% 45.0% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 53.1% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 634.9% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 115.3% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 1,390% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 153.8% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLUSPIPRHLI
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – 24.2% –
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin – 22.9% –
Net margin – 14.5% –
FCF margin – 23.0% –
Operating cash flow margin – 23.9% –
Return on equity – 23.3% –
Return on assets – 16.3% –
Return on invested capital – 23.1% –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover – 0.9x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.4x –
Stock comp / revenue – 6.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLUSPIPRHLI
Debt / assets – 0.6% –
Debt / equity – 0.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.6x –
Debt / FCF – 0.0x –
Liabilities / assets – 32.7% 45.6%
Equity / assets – 67.3% 54.4%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLUSPIPRHLI
Dividend yield – 1.2% 2.0%
Net buyback yield – 2.8% –
Shareholder yield – 3.9% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 38.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 29.0% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 27.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 20.0% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCLUSPIPRHLI
Forward P/E – 13.5xFY2026 19.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $4.78FY2026 $6.72FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +7.9%FY2026 -11.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +18.0% +24.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $2.01BFY2026 $2.76BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +6.8%FY2026 +5.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +11.6% +9.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLUSPIPRHLI
Held by institutions – 91.1% 80.7%
Institutions holding – 423 518
Change in shares held, QoQ – +3.1% +3.1%
Institutions buying – 242 236
Institutions selling – 114 200
Buyers to sellers – 2.12 1.18

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CLUSPIPRHLI
CLUS – – –
PIPR – 1.00 0.57
HLI – 0.57 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLUS, PIPR and HLI?

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cluster Group Holdings (CLUS) $8.00B, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) $4.39B, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) $8.75B.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cluster Group Holdings (CLUS) returned the most: Cluster Group Holdings (CLUS) 0.0%, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) -23.8%, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) -33.3%. Over five years, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) compounded fastest (Cluster Group Holdings (CLUS) -39.1%/yr, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) +9.8%/yr, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) +4.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) 0.03%, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) 0.00%. Cluster Group Holdings (CLUS) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cluster Group Holdings (CLUS) has been the steadiest (Cluster Group Holdings (CLUS) 0.0%, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) 36.1%, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) 31.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CLUS, PIPR and HLI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) leads on 2. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.