Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.67.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Lazard from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Lazard from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $38.99 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Lazard has a one year low of $25.82 and a one year high of $42.24. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -111.40 and a beta of 1.46.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.08. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 37.47% and a negative net margin of 0.63%. The company had revenue of $765.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $678.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.26) earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.13%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently -571.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total value of $2,951,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,448 shares in the company, valued at $8,950,078.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lazard by 1,165.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 176,491 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,142,000 after buying an additional 162,549 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 140,285 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,882,000 after purchasing an additional 28,250 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 84.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,019,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,603,000 after purchasing an additional 466,301 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co raised its stake in Lazard by 55.1% in the third quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 47,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after buying an additional 16,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 245,137 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,602,000 after acquiring an additional 44,976 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

About Lazard

Lazard, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Financial Advisory and Asset Management. The Financial Advisory segment offers financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, shareholder, sovereign, geopolitical advisory, and other strategic advisory services, as well as restructuring and liability management, and capital raising and placement services.